Bruce's Plus One
by sassybutt32
Summary: Bruce thought he was just stitching up a normal girl; albeit amazingly paranoid and a super secret, well trained assassin, but still normal. But after meeting her he's called back to SHIELD to help Natasha and Clint on a serious project, Steve gets a new sparring partner and Tony's having a big avengers sleepover! Bruce should have just stayed in Calcutta... Bruce/OC
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own The Avengers.**

* * *

Bruce Banner was living a very good life.

Well, as good as it _could_ be.

After the battle with the Chitauri, he had spent a few months working with Tony Stark on a few little projects at Stark tower, before finally deciding on returning to new little home in Calcutta. Bruce had even gotten a cell phone just in case SHIELD ever needed him or the other guy again.

Now, a year later from all that, Bruce was alone, sitting on the floor of his extremely hot home. His shirt was off, and his legs were crossed as he went over a few of his breathing exercises. After a few minutes of his normal routine, he stood up, walked to the window, and glanced outside.

The sun was setting, and he pondered over paying a few visits to some patients in the city. As he walked towards his discarded shirt, he heard a very loud, very scared scream come from right outside his house.

He could feel his pulse quicken at the sudden surprise, but he took in a deep breath and walked to the other side of the shack, looking out the window in the direction of the scream.

Trees and shrubs filled his vision, and for a few moments all he heard was the soft humming of the bugs flying around the area. He turned his back from the window when he heard the scream again.

"LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE!"

He spun around and Bruce's eyes widened as he saw a woman running through the trees, before falling behind some shrubs a few feet from his home.

He hurriedly buttoned up his shirt and ran out of his shack. He needed to help this girl, even if whoever seemed to be chasing her might unleash the other guy.

He jumped through the bushes and saw the girl in a ball on the ground, crying and hugging her left arm, which was cut wide open with blood seeping out onto the grass.

Bruce slowly knelt down in front of her, "Miss?" he questioned, a bit nervous.

Her eyes shot open and she looked around wildly. She quickly grabbed Bruce's hand, "Help! Hide me, please!" she sobbed. Bruce gulped, looking around the area for someone. Nothing was there, and he slowly took the girl's right arm and helped her to a sitting position, "My home is right there. I'm a doctor, I can help you, okay?" he told her gently.

She nodded, and Bruce noticed the heavy bags under her eyes. He hurriedly helped her into his home, and laid her down on his bed before running to get his doctor's bag.

He returned to her, his glasses placed on the bridge of his nose, and saw her going in and out of consciousness. He quickly studied the wound, noticing tissue hadn't been lost and there hadn't been too much damage other than she had been cut from her shoulder to just above her elbow and some dirt had gotten into the wound.

He grabbed a rag and pressed it against the wound. He applied pressure, while using his other hand to pull out the right equipment. He took in a deep breathe. His heart was speeding up, but he could handle it. He had been thrust into surprise operations all the time here; it was amazing how many people could get hurt or sick. Of course, doing big things in an unsterilized house was not the safest. But considering he only needed to suture the wound and no other damage appeared to have been made by whatever cut her, he figured he could do this without anything going horribly wrong.

"You…you have to stitch it…doctor?" she muttered, taking in deep breathes. Bruce nodded, "I don't have anything to numb the pain, though." He told her. "Can you apply pressure to this? I need to sterilize the tools." He asked.

She nodded, slowly reaching over and pushing the rag down against the wound. Bruce kept glancing at her every few seconds, making sure she was still conscious. She was sweating copiously, pieces of her light brown hair sticking to her face and neck.

Bruce reached up and grabbed a set of paper towels off the bedside table, and switched on the small light. The room was still dimly lit, but it was better than stitching her in the darkness.

After putting on a pair of gloves he washed the scalpel, needle, and hemostat. He let them dry on the paper towel, and lifted the rag from the girl's arm to check the wound. Yeah, he'd definitely need to use the scalpel.

He had no idea who had attacked the girl, but they did a very sloppy job at cutting her. He skin was cut in a jagged way, and he picked up the scalpel. He glanced at the girl, who was watching him, biting her lip nervously.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She gulped, "Nora."

He nodded, "Okay, Nora. I'll be honest, this might sting."

She nodded, closing her eyes and turning her head away. Bruce took some of the alcohol, rubbed it on a piece of paper towel, and cleaned out the wound of the dirt. She let out a low hiss, but remained as calm as possible.

Once that was done, Bruce began cutting off the jagged pieces and Nora winched, using her right hand to grip the blanket.

Once Bruce had finished that, he grabbed the needle, the hemostat, and the suture material. He prepared the needle and looked up to see Nora was watching him. She paled, but closed her eyes and slowly nodded her head, giving him the okay that she was ready.

Bruce took in a breath, before beginning the procedure.

Nora groaned, gripping the blanket tighter and turning her head away.

"What's your name, Doctor?" she muttered through clenched teeth.

Bruce glanced at her quickly, before continuing on with his work. "You really want to talk to me while I'm putting stitches in your arm?" he questioned.

She winched as he brought the needle back through her skin and pulled the first stitch together, "Well, I want to put my mind off the pain."

"Then you talk, I'll listen. I'd really not like to mess this up." He told her, a small smiling pulling on his lips as he readied the needle for the next stitch.

She winched, a few tears leaking out of her closed eyes, before sighing, "I'm twenty- nine. I lived in Canada for five years before moving here a week ago. I don't like heat, so I was," she winched, "Considering leaving. Jesus Christ," she muttered, wiping her forehead with the backside of her hand.

Bruce muttered a _'sorry'_ before continuing on with the stitches. She let out a few deep breathes, "I was home schooled growing up, and I have an older brother and sister. I've always wanted to build a snowman,"

"You lived in Canada and you didn't build a snowman?" Bruce asked, glancing up at her as he pulled closed his seventh stitch.

She chuckled, "I had my reasons." She cringed, letting out a large breath. "I worked from home, and, uh," she paused, before cringing once more at the needle. "You'd think I'd be used to this by now. You're almost done, right?" she questioned, peeking her left eye open to steal a glance.

Bruce smirked, "Not even close."

She groaned, before turning her head away. He continued on, waiting for her to continue with her list about herself, but nothing came. He glanced at her, noticing the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"Nora?" he questioned.

She mumbled something, but Bruce couldn't hear it. "You gotta stay with me, okay?" he said. He thought about maybe she was just falling asleep, she did look exhausted. But he never liked when they fell asleep on him without any type of pain meds.

Slowly, she turned her head to him, forcing her eyes to stay open. He nodded at her, "I'm almost half way there, don't worry." He told her, turning back to her wound. She nodded her head tiredly, wincing every time the needle poked through her skin.

Forty-five minutes later, Bruce closed up the stitches, snipping the material and grabbing some gauzes out of his bag. He wrapped her arm lightly, before securing it all together.

"All done." He said, patting her limp and pale left hand. She nodded, her eye lids heavy.

"I…I can pay you…" she muttered tiredly, her voice barely above a whisper. Bruce shook his head, "Just get some sleep, we'll talk about that tomorrow, okay?" he questioned. She nodded, before finally closing her eyes and drifting off.

Bruce looked her over, before gathering up his equipment and bringing it to the sink to wash.

He made himself some dinner, and stood by the window near the door to watch for anyone suspicious. He didn't really know what he'd do. He definitely didn't want to bring out the other guy, considering he might hurt the girl, Nora. But whoever was after Nora wouldn't go banging on doors looking for her.

He looked back at the sleeping girl, and gave her a curious look. She looked innocent enough, who would want to hurt her?

He chuckled, slightly dark at the thought. He knew looks could be deceiving. If anyone looked at him, they had no idea he could turn into an enormous green rage monster, as Tony had put it.

But, considering how the world works and how bad it could be around there, he didn't doubt she could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She could have just been wandering through the woods, walked in on something she shouldn't have seen or met the wrong person, and they could have attacked.

He frowned, taking another bite of his dinner. He'd just have to find out tomorrow when she woke up.

* * *

**A/N**

**Welcome to my first ever Avengers fic.**

**I hope you liked it. A lot stuff seemed to happen, don't worry. All will be explained next chapter. **

**Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

_She was running. She felt her weight beat down on her legs as they carried her across the dense trees and forest floor. Sweat poured down her face as she strained her eyes to look forward, her ears to listen keener, as she tried to get away._

_She felt a hand grasp around her waist and she screamed, reaching her arms behind her to grab the person and throw them forward, but she already felt the cold knife slide through her back and lodge into her lungs._

_She gasped, pushing herself off her attacker and falling to her knees. "Please, please…!" she gasped, tasting the blood in her mouth. "I…didn't…do anything!" she coughed, clutching her mouth as she felt the blood rise up her throat and out her back._

_"I'm innocent!" she sobbed, but her words fell on deaf ears as she felt the blood stained blade slide across her neck._

* * *

Nora shot up in the bed, groping herself desperately to make sure she was unharmed. When she reached the gauzes on her left arm, she was confused.

She stared around the unfamiliar home, the memories of the night before coming back to her. She pushed the blankets off, stood up, and began to move around the empty home. It was scarcely furnished, with just the bed, a desk and chair, nightstand, and a small square table in the tiny kitchen with a metal chair.

Just as she spun around to see the room full circle the front door open, Bruce walked in, wearing his usual baggy dress pants, jacket and button down, the top two buttons undone.

He held his doctor bag in hand, and looked a little startled to see Nora standing before him.

"You're the doctor." Nora stated, vaguely remembering his face. Bruce nodded, closing the door and holding out his hand to shake, "Good to see you're awake."

She nodded, returning the gesture. "Glad to be awake. Thank you for all the help last night, Doctor…?"

"Banner, Bruce Banner." He told her, bringing his bag to his desk before shrugging off his jacket. She nodded, "Nora Oswald."

He hung his jacket off the back of the chair, "Well, Nora Oswald, it took about sixty stitches to close up that cut."

She cringed, "That sounds expensive. Uh," She began patting down the pockets on her cut up jean shorts, "I should have my wallet on me," She muttered, her eyebrows furrowed.

Bruce shook his head, "It's not a problem, Nora. But, uh, do you mind me asking who did that to you?" he asked, nodding towards her arm.

She frowned, turning her attention to the white gauzes. "I did," She muttered, slightly embarrassed.

Bruce's eyebrows shot up, and he gave her a skeptical look. "Really?" he questioned. She nodded, "I had a bad dream, pretty realistic. I woke up thinking it was real and took off running. I remember tripping, and hitting my arm against something rough, and then you showed up. It was my fault I got hurt; you don't need to be too concerned about someone out there trying to kill me or something." She explained, laughing slightly.

Bruce gave her a look, "I've never met someone react so…violently to a dream."

She waved to herself, "Now you have. I should really work on my paranoia."

Bruce nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Maybe just a little." He said, shrugging. Nora smirked, before looking back at her arm. "Uh, you sure I don't owe you? And do I need to come back for anything?" she asked.

Bruce nodded, grabbing a small note pad and pen, "Don't worry it's on the house. I go to the city up the road every day at around three to do checkups on the sick there, but if the stitches open or something else happens call me at this number." He explained, ripping off the paper and handing it to her.

She nodded, stuffing the paper in her pocket.

"And you should come by in a few days, to change the gauzes, make sure everything is clean." He explained, wringing his hands together.

She nodded once more, before turning towards the front door. "Well…thank you, Dr. Banner. I'll be back in a few days."

"Alright."

She waved at him as she opened the door, "Goodbye."

He waved back, "Bye." He called as the door closed.

He turned his head and saw out the window Nora walking back in the direction she was running from the night before. He wondered if he knew of any houses or towns in that direction, but nothing came to mind.

* * *

Bruce stood in his small kitchen, which consisted of an old, tiny stove, one counter, a fridge about the same size as the counter, and two cabinets above the counter and fridge. The sink was across from the stove, next to the door leading to the old and putrid toilet and shower. He'd gotten used to it in the years he lived there, but going back to New York for a few months had apparently spoiled him. It took him a bit to get used to it all again.

He poured the soup into his bowl on the counter and waited a few minutes for it to cool. As he went to grab a spoon he heard a knock on his door.

He walked over, opening the door a bit slowly to see who it was, before finally opening it all the way to reveal Nora.

She smiled sheepishly at him, "Hey, Dr. Banner. You said come back in a few days, so…" she trailed off.

Bruce nodded, waving her into his home. She had a heavy looking backpack hanging off her right shoulder, and Bruce wondered if her idea of living in Calcutta was camping.

"Take a seat, I'll just be a moment," he said, waving towards the chair next to the desk.

She glanced around the small home, taking in all the details once more. Bruce hadn't really added any homey touches, just the red blanket laying on the bed and the many piles of books on and next to the desk.

Bruce walked back over to her, kneeling down on her left and removing the gauzes. They were slightly bloodied, and Bruce pulled out his glasses to inspect the stitches. They seemed fine, and her skin was healing very well. He pulled out a fresh set of gauzes and began wrapping her arm.

She could smell the soup and looked towards the kitchen, "Did I interrupt your dinner?" she questioned.

Bruce shook his head, "I hadn't even started eating yet, don't worry."

She frowned, "I would have called, but I don't…well…I don't have a cell phone." She muttered.

Bruce looked at her, "You moved her from Canada and you don't have a cell phone?" he questioned. He remembered her saying she had siblings, and she didn't use past tense. Did she not keep in touch with them? It would be hard to write to them if she was just camping in Calcutta.

She looked away, biting her lip, "It's a long, _long_ story. I'm sorry I interrupted your dinner."

Bruce decided not to remind her he hadn't started eating, when he heard the low rumble of a stomach that wasn't his.

Nora's face turned a light shade of pink, "Sorry." She muttered.

Bruce finished wrapping the gauzes, "Uh…w-would you like some? It's nothing fancy, just chicken noodle." He explained.

She shook her head, "I don't want to impose."

He shrugged, crossing his arms, "It's nothing."

She eyed him, waiting for some sign that he was lying. After a minute of her staring and him standing there awkwardly, she finally nodded. "Thank you."

He shook his head, walking towards the kitchen and pulling another small bowl out of the cabinet. He poured the remaining soup, grabbed another spoon, and brought her her bowl.

She nodded, blowing on it once before hurrying the spoon into her mouth.

Bruce watched her from where he stood by his bowl against the counter, wondering how hungry she really was.

"Do you know anywhere around here that's renting or something?" She asked, pulling the bowl and spoon away from her mouth.

Bruce thought this over, before shaking his head, "Not that I know of."

She sighed, returning to her soup. Bruce still hadn't started his.

"Do you…do you not have a place to stay?" Bruce questioned, finally taking a bite of his dinner.

Nora dropped the bowl to her lap and sighed, "I've been staying in a makeshift tent over by the river." She said, nodding out the window in the general direction of said river.

Bruce nodded, "The city is pretty packed. I had considered finding an apartment there when I came here a few years ago but…I uh," he paused, glancing down at his feet. "I prefer a more private area, I suppose." '_Less damage to cause, less people to hurt.' _He thought.

Nora shrugged, "It's for the best, I suppose. I'll just go somewhere else. I don't like the heat anyways." She paused, "Well, not before you get these stitches out of me." She grinned, before taking another spoonful of soup. "Thanks again for the dinner. I'm such a picky eater, I can barely find anything I like in the city." She explained.

Bruce chuckled, "I'm not, you're lucky you got me on a day I made soup."

Nora made a face, before taking another bite.

Bruce watched her as she stared around his home, and a sudden thought occurred to him.

'_No. Absolutely not. You'd be putting her at risk. Imagine having her wake up screaming from one of those nightmares like the other day, waking _you_ up. The other guy would come out, most likely kill her,'_

Bruce shook his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose, before placing his bowl on the counter. "Uh, you know," he started, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nora looked at him.

'_You know better than to do this, Bruce. _

_Do. Not. Ask. Her.'_

He sighed, bouncing from one foot to the other before he waved towards the door, "The family that live down the road, ah, they have a shed in the back. I could ask if you could stay there. It's, uh, it's better than a makeshift tent."

'_Much better.'_

Nora quirked an eyebrow at him, "They'd just let you rent out their shed?"

Bruce shook his head, "No, no, I'll just tell them they don't need to pay me for the next month if they let you sleep in the back. You said you were thinking about leaving anyway, so you wouldn't be there long."

"Someone there is sick?" She asked.

Bruce shook his head, "Uh, can't really reveal that. Doctor-patient confidentiality." He gave her a small smirk.

She rolled her eyes, "Right, right. Well, that's really nice of you, Dr. Banner." She said, standing up and bringing her now empty bowl to the sink. She really had been hungry; Bruce had barely touched his.

* * *

Clint sighed, tossing a few of the papers across the table. "When Fury said he had a job for us, I didn't think we'd be taking over _his_ paperwork."

Natasha glanced at him from where she stood in front of the glass monitor. She tapped at a few things on the screen, "Once we figure out where and who these people are, we'll be out there bringing them in."

Clint looked her over, before grabbing another file, "The number of deaths this person or group has caused in the last forty years…you'd think they'd have been stopped by now." He said, slapping the paper with the backside of his hand.

Natasha nodded, "They're a skilled set of assassins, I'll give them that much." She glanced at Clint and the shadow of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, "But they'll be no match once we find them."

Clint sighed, grabbing another few files, "I just hope that's soon."

Natasha shrugged, moving to another computer on the other side of the room, "We're good at what we do, but I have to admit, Stark and Bruce probably would already have a better idea at tracking them than us, even if they don't emit gamma signals."

Clint sighed, "Why don't we just get them to help us? It seems like the best option since neither of us has any leads."

Natasha didn't say anything, before tapping at a few things on a digital map, "I figured out that it's a team involved, not one person."

Clint looked over at her, and she pointed to a few dots in different colors she made on the digital map. "When they're the same color, it means they were jobs done at times where it would be impossible to be done by the same person, considering their distance."

Clint nodded, "Alright, we have a team of assassins, that's cleared. We still have no idea where and who they are."

Natasha nodded, "Maybe we _should_ call in Stark and Banner."

Clint walked towards the other side of the room, reaching for the room's phone, "Banner first? Or Stark?"

Natasha tapped at the screen, pulling a live video clip of Tony, in his Iron Man suit, fighting some crazed man in Malibu.

"Maybe just call Banner. Stark looks a bit busy."

* * *

**A/N**

**wow. This story has gotten some traffic! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted! You all rock!(:**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

Nora stared at her stitches in the dusty mirror, grimacing slightly as she went to touch the barely opened wound. It was nearly healed, and she only had five or six more days until Bruce removed the stitches.

She took the gauzes and rewrapped her arm, stood up and walked out of the small shed. The family Bruce had told her about was more than happy to let her sleep in the shed. The only problem she found was she couldn't understand a thing they said to her. She found that a problem for her all over.

She had no idea how lucky she was collapsing and getting Bruce's attention. She wondered if there were any other doctors around there that spoke English. But she was glad she had met Bruce. He was nice, granted a bit shy, but he had helped her and denied any payment. Most doctors she had met weren't really like that. That meant he was either just mad, or enjoyed helping people so much he didn't really seek any type of payment. She thought it was a bit of both, since he did accept payment, he just didn't accept it from her.

Perhaps he just thought she was poor and crazy after the way they had met.

She closed the shed and made sure the lock on it was tight, before taking off and heading in the direction of Bruce's home.

She checked her wrist watch, and hurried into a jog when she saw it was nearly time for him to set off for the city.

Bruce was just walking out the front door when Nora waved at him from a about a yard away, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Something wrong, Nora?" he asked, moving his bag from his left hand to his right. She paused, thinking over what she was going to say.

After a few minutes of silence, she gave him a small smile, "You're the only other person I've met here who speaks English." She told him honestly. Bruce nodded, waiting for her to continue. She sighed, "No one likes being alone, and being alone because of a language barrier is one of the worst things. The worst type of loneness in my opinion; being surrounded by people who can talk and have fun with each other, but not even being able to _ask_ if you can join them because you don't know _how_…" she paused, staring down at her feet.

'_Come on, you're twenty-nine years old. Get it together!'_ She thought angrily.

She looked back up at him, "Since you and I can communicate, I was wondering if I could accompany you on your rounds?" She asked.

Bruce gave her a skeptical look, and she sighed, "I won't get in the way, I'll even wait outside the room. I just…" she paused, crossing her arms, "I don't want to be alone if I can help it."

Bruce remained quiet, his skeptical look never leaving his face.

She looked him in the eye, "Please?"

Bruce sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Alright." He gave in, before leading Nora down the dirt road and into the very crowded city.

Most of the afternoon to early evening consisted of Nora standing outside the door of a building or room while Bruce disappeared inside, and when he came back he looked just a bit more tired or concerned.

Nora took it upon herself to carry his doctor bag, so she wouldn't be completely useless to him. She caught on to a few quirks of his, like pinching the bridge of his nose and wringing his hands. She hadn't caught on if it was because he was nervous or if it was something he just, well, _did_ but she hoped she could figure it out before the night ended.

"How many more people to check up on?" she asked curiously, checking the time on her watch. It was nearly six, and she couldn't believe they'd been walking around for three hours.

Bruce pointed to a building at the end of the block, "One more."

Twenty-five minutes later, Bruce walked out of the building's front door, closing up his doctor's bag and ready to hand it to Nora, but she was nowhere to be scene.

"Nora?" He called, looking around the busy street for her. His heart rate sped up some, and he stopped, took in a few breathes and continued looking. Where would she go? She didn't know anyone in Calcutta, considering she didn't speak the language unless she met a missionary.

"Hey, Dr. Banner!" he heard her familiar voice and she hurried over to him, holding two sticks with some type of meat on them in each of her hands.

"I bought us something to eat, since we've been on our feet for three and a half hours, ya know. Gotta have some nourishment." She explained, holding her hand out for him to take his treat. He paused, before slowly pulling the stick out of her hand. His fingers brushed hers and he felt his heart beat sped up, while Nora reached over and relieved Bruce of his bag.

He stared down at his feet, taking in a breath and wondering _why_ his heart sped up like that when he had touched her. He had touched her before when he was inspecting her stitching; he had even patted her hand in reassurance the first night he met her after he had stitched her up. So why did his heart rate speed up when his fingers grazed hers?

"Thanks." He said, looking up at her. She smiled, taking a bite of the meat.

"I thought you said you were a picky eater." Bruce commented, walking alongside her. She shrugged, "I smelt chicken, followed my nose, and as long as it smells like chicken, it's chicken." She said, taking another bite.

Bruce chuckled, taking his own bite. "Well, it's pretty good. Saves me from cooking tonight." He commented, using his thumb to wipe away any sauce from his mouth.

Twenty minutes later the two arrived back at Bruce's home, both long finished of their dinner. Nora handed his bag back and gave him a small wave, "Bye, Doc. Thanks for letting me tag along."

Bruce nodded, "You can call me Bruce, you know." He told her.

She nodded, "Well, you're my doctor right now. But once these stitches are out of me I'll start calling you Bruce, okay?"

He nodded, staring down at his feet as a smile played on his lips. He debated whether telling her she just called him Bruce, but decided against it. He waved goodbye and walked inside his home, only to see a small light coming from his nightstand on the other side of the room.

He walked over, switched on the table lamp, and picked up the cell phone. He must have forgotten to bring it with him.

He saw the familiar name on the screen and pressed the phone to his ear, "Natasha."

"Hello Bruce. I've been calling."

He placing his bag on the floor, taking a seat on his bed, "Sorry, I was out. What is it?"

"We need you to come in."

Bruce paused, "Me, or the big guy?" he asked after a moment.

"Just you. Agent Barton and I are doing a job and we're having some problems tracking someone. We'd like to see if you can help us." She explained.

Bruce nodded, "How can I track them exactly?"

"Well they certainly aren't emitting any gamma signals but you're a lot better at tracking people, while Clint and I are better at _getting_ them."

Bruce smirked, "Thanks. But I think the other guy is a bit insulted."

It almost sounded like Natasha chuckled, but Bruce wasn't sure. "When does the plane get here?" He asked.

"It's there already. I'll call the agents there and a car will be picking you up on at the edge of the city."

Bruce nodded, "Doesn't give me too long to tell my patients I'll be gone."

"Sorry. Hopefully your job will be done soon." Natasha said, before a click was heard and Bruce knew she had hung up.

He moved around his home, grabbing a few changes of clothes and some books to pass the time on the flight, slinging them into an old grey bag he kept under his bed. He slung that over his shoulder and grabbed his medical bag, before leaving his home.

He walked through the dirt road, wondering where on the edge of town this car was. He figured he'd call Natasha back once he got there.

"Dr. Banner?"

He stopped, turning around to see Nora sitting on the ground by the side of the road.

"A-Are you alright?" He asked, walking over to her. She nodded, brushing some dirt off her legs, "I was walking back when this truck drove by," she paused, "I guess I was just paranoid, I jumped into the bushes. I've been down here, waiting to see if it was safe, uh," she eyed his bags, "What you are doing?" she questioned, pushing herself up.

Bruce paused, his mouth slightly opened as he thought of something to say.

She nodded towards his grey bag, "Are you leaving or something?"

He paused, before nodding. "Business, for maybe a week or so."

She nodded, stepping aside for Bruce to walk past her.

"Does this mean I have to wait to get my stitches out until you get back?" she called to him curiously. He turned around and nodded.

She frowned, "I'd really like to get them out as soon as possible. I'm not a very patient person."

He paused, scratching the back of his neck, "I, uh, I'm sorry."

She nodded, "Maybe I could…come with you?" She suggested quirking an eyebrow at him.

He paused, before shaking his head, "No, I, uh, I don't think that's a good idea. There are other doctors that can speak English,"

She nodded, "Yes, but I don't like going to another doctor to finish a previous doctor's job. I suppose that's strange, but that's my logic."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet, "I can pay whatever. I won't interfere. I'll pay for the plane ticket or taxi ride, whatever to get me to where you go. I'll even get a hotel five miles away from where you're staying. And this way, I kill two birds with one stone. I get to leave Calcutta early, and I get my stitches out from the doctor who put them in." she smiled.

Bruce stared at her, and he knew he wouldn't be able to get rid of her. She was going to stick to his like _glue_.

He felt a bit annoyed by it, but he took a breath and slowly nodded his head. "Fine."

She grinned, pocketing her wallet and running past him, "By the time you get to the shed, I'll be there waiting okay? I'll get my bag!" she called over her shoulder.

Bruce was in a bit of awe at how fast she ran, but stalked on down the dirt road.

And by the time he reached the old home, there she stood with her bag slung over her shoulder.

The two walked in silence to the edge of town, where Bruce was the first to see the black jeep with two agents standing on either side waiting for him.

"Is that our ride?" She whispered to him. Bruce nodded, and they approached the jeep cautiously.

"Dr. Banner." One of the agents said, offering to take Bruce's bags. He handed them over, and Nora went to hand her bag over to the other agent, but he simply stared at her, his hand pressed to something at his side.

"Identify yourself, miss." He told her.

Bruce looked to the other side of the jeep, "Ah, its fine. She's a friend."

The agent nodded, finally taking Nora's bag and placing it in the back next to Bruce's. Nora gave him a wary look, before glancing around and climbing into the jeep and next to Bruce in the back.

They drove in silence for about twenty minutes, until Bruce and Nora could see a private jet waiting for them in the distance.

"I guess I can't technically buy a ticket, huh?" Nora muttered. She turned to Bruce, "Are you like…the president's private doctor or something?" she asked, smirking.

He gave a dry chuckle, shaking his head.

Bruce and Nora stepped out of the jeep and walked up the steps into the jet, while one of the agents brought in their bags.

Bruce was wringing his hands, leaning over slightly to glance out the windows. He was never good in closed off, air tight areas. He was pretty wary about the Hellicarrier the year before, and being on airplanes wasn't any different.

As she walked through the jet Nora noticed the uniforms the pilots and flight attendant were wearing. They were dark blue or black one piece suits, with ear pieces and a word stitched on just above their heart: _S.H.I.E.L.D_. At the sight of the word Nora noticeably paled.

Bruce glanced over at her, "Do you not like flying?"

She slowly shook her head, "Flying is…its fine." She took a seat and buckled her seatbelt, staring directly at the back of the chair in front of her. Bruce gave her a curious look, before taking a seat in the row next to hers and buckling himself up.

He noticed the slight worried look in the flight attendant's eyes and he smirked to himself. Anyone who knew who he was was always scared of him, even if he _was _an Avenger.

He glanced at Nora, who had her back straight against the chair, her eyes darting to every inch of the jet without moving her head.

If she was this scared of a jet, he knew he couldn't let her know who he really is.

* * *

**A/N**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, alerted and favorited! They all give me warm fuzzies(: **

**I'm very glad so many of you are lovin' this story! Stay tuned for the next chapter! It's gonna get a bit crazy.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

Bruce had noticed the change in Nora since they boarded the jet.

She had her guard up, and she reminded Bruce of a solider in a way. Any time the flight attendant would ask her if she'd like a drink, or a snack, he saw the way Nora studied her, how she tensed. She didn't act like that the few times he had addressed her, so he concluded it was just the flight attendant and being on the jet in general.

'_Maybe it's not the jet she's afraid of.'_ He thought, leaning back in his seat.

The jet landed at around ten thirty that night, and Nora and Bruce were escorted from the jet to a private black car, where a red haired woman was sitting there waiting.

She looked a bit surprised when Nora climbed into the car first, and gave Bruce a quick, questioning look.

He shrugged slightly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nora was the first to speak, "You work for SHIELD?" she questioned Natasha. Bruce turned to Nora, very surprised to know that Nora knew what SHIELD was, but Natasha looked indifferent. She nodded, "And who are you?" she questioned.

Nora paused, "Nora Daniels." She told her.

Bruce quirked an eyebrow, his eyes still on her. Hadn't she told him her last name was Oswald?

"Are you and Dr. Banner…?" Natasha questioned, looking between the two. Bruce and Nora both shared a small blush, before quickly shaking their heads.

"I'm his patient." "She's my patient." Nora and Bruce said at the same time.

Natasha smirked. She had never seen this embarrassed, blushing side of Bruce. It was a bit amusing to her. But she didn't let it show; she pushed back the thought of the two people in front of her being embarrassed and handed Bruce a manila folder.

"You'll need to look these over. This car will bring us to the facility you'll be staying and working in. I'll call ahead a let them know we'll need another room,"

"You don't have to do that," Nora cut in. "I told Dr. Banner I'd stay some distance away while we're here. Where is here, exactly?" she asked.

"Near a private, remote facility in Pennsylvania. I'm afraid there aren't any hotels for you to stay in for a good fifty miles." Natasha explained, pulling out her cell phone and making a call.

"I didn't know there were such empty areas in Pennsylvania, besides the parks." Nora muttered, turning to look out the window.

The ride took about twenty minutes, and an agent opened the door for the three of them.

Bruce whistled, taking in the tall and long building.

Nora tensed on his right, and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Something was up. He didn't have to be a detective to know that.

Natasha led them into the building, into an elevator and to a bedroom on the third floor.

"This will be your room, Ms. Daniels." Natasha said, stepping aside. The agent holding their bags handed Nora hers and she walked into the room, "Thank you." She muttered to Natasha, before closing the door.

Bruce thought they'd begin walking but Natasha waited a moment. After a few seconds she could hear the light click on the lock coming into place.

She glanced towards the door, before leading Bruce down the hall.

"Who is she?" Natasha asked.

Bruce gave her a look, "A patient."

"She's a bit paranoid, isn't she?" Natasha asked.

Bruce chuckled, "I've learned that, yeah."

He wondered if he should tell her about the name change. Did it matter?

"Uh, Natasha, about Nora," Bruce started.

"She lied to me, I know." Natasha interrupted him. Bruce gave her a look, "You knew?"

She nodded, "She hesitated. It's a clear sign that she lied. So what's her real name?"

"Nora Oswald."

"Good to know."

"You're gonna do some background check on her or something?" Bruce asked, turning right down the hallway. Natasha gave him a look, "Well, it's better to be safe than sorry."

She stopped in front of a door, waving it towards Bruce. "You're room. I'll come by at nine tomorrow morning and bring you to the research room Clint and I have been using." She explained.

Bruce took his bags back and nodded, walking into his room. Natasha closed the door for him, and Bruce switched on the light.

There was a large king bed against the wall with a digital clock on the bedside table. Two chairs sat across from the bed and there was a closet on the left side of the door, and a private bathroom on the right.

Seeing at how late it was and dealing with the jet lag from the flight, Bruce kicked off his shoes and fell against the cool and soft bed, drifting off into sleep.

* * *

Bruce was already awake and ready when Natasha knocked on his door. He made sure his glasses were in his shirt pocket before following Natasha down the hallway, into an elevator and down until they were under ground.

Natasha led him from the elevator, down a bright white corridor and into a very large room with glass digital displays hanging from the ceilings and three tables with paperwork scattered around them along the walls of the room.

Clint stood by one of the digital displays, before walking over to Bruce and extending his hand. "Dr. Banner." He nodded, giving her a stern look.

Bruce nodded, shaking his hand before walking to one of the tables.

"I assume you read the file?" Natasha asked, walking up behind him. Bruce nodded, "This morning. The things this…_group_ has done is quite extraordinary in a dark and twisted sort of way. But everyone leaves a trace," he explained, picking up a few enlarged pictures with a red marker circling something in the corner that barely caught the light of the room.

Natasha nodded, Clint walking up next to her.

"No fingerprints or DNA traces?" Bruce asked. Natasha and Clint both shook their heads.

"Have you analyzed their style in assassination? Traced it to a certain fighting style…?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms.

Natasha and Clint both nodded, an exasperated look shared on their faces, "They're never caught on camera but the autopsies gave us enough information to conclude that they've developed their own style based on dozens of different forms of fighting." Natasha explained.

"Each kill is different, and each assassin killing them is different. All of them fight in the same way, but_ I'm_ guessing they each continue to develop their style over time, so as to not be traceable to one for future kills." Clint explained.

Bruce nodded, flipping through the pictures, "The cleanliness of the deaths vary." He muttered, placing the pictures down and pinching the bridge of his nose before walking over to one of the digital screens.

Bruce put on his glasses, tapping away at the screen, "Since we barely have anything on them, start with footage from airlines surrounding the areas the assassinations take place. Look for people who could be suspicious, find people who appear more than once. It's strenuous, but it's the best shot we have. And if these people own their own plane, they'll be in a system _somewhere_. Let's start doing checks on that." Bruce said.

Natasha and Clint both nodded, and the three of them went to work.

Things were going well until noon. A knock came from the door and Natasha pressed a button on the side of the metal table she was working on. A click was heard and the door swung open. A SHIELD agent, looking about in his thirties, hurried into the room and whispered something to Natasha.

She gave the agent a surprised look, before turning to Bruce. "There's a problem with your patient."

Bruce's eyes grew wide, and he waited for Natasha to continue.

"Apparently she's attacked three agents." Natasha explained, walking out of the room with the agent in the lead. Bruce and Clint both shared a surprised look before hurrying out of the room and after Natasha.

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"One of the agents offered to show her to the cafeteria, since she hadn't left the room. When she opened the door she just…attacked him. Two more agents came to his aid and well…she took them out." The male agent explained.

Natasha and Bruce both shared a surprised look, while Clint just looked confused. "Is your patient a fighter or something, Doc?"

Bruce slowly shook his head, "I-I don't know," he muttered.

The agent leading them to the scene brought his hand to his ear, "It appears they've knocked her out with a sedative."

"A sedative?" Bruce repeated his eyes wide.

"Bruce," Natasha gave him a wary look. He nodded, taking a deep breath. He wasn't going to get worked up over all this.

The agent nodded, "They shot it at her, apparently. They're bringing her to Medical Ward B on the fifth floor."

Natasha nodded, "That will be all." She told him, and he nodded, leaving the three of them by the elevator.

Natasha pressed the button and the doors swung open. Bruce wrung his hands together nervously as he watched the numbers go down from seven to five.

"You're positive about not knowing if she could fight?" Clint asked after a moment.

Bruce nodded his head. He…he didn't know anything about her.

Natasha led them out of the elevator and to the left, down a bright white hallway until they were walking in front of a room with floor to ceiling windows for them to see inside.

Agent Hill was standing at the end of a bed; her arms crossed and scowl on her face. Natasha led them inside and Agent Hill glared at Bruce. She didn't dare snap at him though. She knew better. Bruce stared awkwardly at the floor, while Agent Hill turned to Natasha.

"Three of our agents are lying unconscious in a hospital bed in Medical Ward A, because of her," She said, nodding behind her at the unconscious Nora.

"I want answers. Who is she?" Agent Hill ordered.

Natasha sighed, "I don't know." She said simply.

Bruce looked at Natasha, before stepping in. "Her name is Nora, that's the only clear thing I know. I met her in Calcutta, and she told me she traveled there from Canada. I'm treating her right now; she has stitches in her left bicep." He explained.

Hill nodded, "Explains why she has those bloodied gauzes on." She said. Bruce looked over at Nora and he could see the noticeably red gauzes. He looked to agent Hill and pointed over to her, "Uh, May I?" he asked.

Hill sighed, before nodding. Bruce walked over, took a squirt of hand sanitizer from the bedside table, and began slowly unwrapping the gauzes. He noticed the tight leather retrains wrapped around her wrists connecting her to the bed. He wondered if her ankles were retrained under the covers too.

"Did you do a background check on her?" Hill asked. Natasha nodded, "I couldn't find anything." She pulled out a small, high tech looking phone from a pocket on her suit, "But her fingerprints should tell a different story." She explained, walking over and standing next to Bruce as she took the girl's hand and pressing it to the screen of the phone.

A red light moved down the screen, scanning the print, before a little green check appeared on the screen. Natasha dropped her hand, and walked back over to Clint and Hill.

As the three of them stood staring at the phone, waiting for the scan to be complete, Bruce continued unwrapping the gauzes. He internally swore when he saw the stitching had opened slightly.

"Uh," he waved over to the group, hoping to get their attention. Agent Hill looked at him, "I'm gonna need my medical bag." He told her, motioning to Nora's arm. Hill nodded, signaling for another agent to come over.

"Go to Dr. Banner's room and retrieve his medical bag." She ordered, and the agent hurried off out of the room.

A beeping sound came from Natasha's phone and she tapped away at it, before an annoyed look crossed her face. "You have to be kidding me." She muttered angrily, pocketing the phone.

Agent Hill looked just as annoyed, and Clint's face scrunched up as he thought. The agent returned with Bruce's bag moments later, handing Bruce the bag as Hill tapped him on the shoulder.

"Return to her room and search for anything that can tell us who she is. Dr. Banner says she traveled to Calcutta, so find us her passport." Hill ordered the agent.

He nodded, and left the room as quickly as he came.

"Why? What's happened?" Bruce asked, pulling out his equipment.

"You're friend here doesn't exist." Natasha said tiredly, crossing her arms and taking a seat on the bed next to Nora's.

Bruce's eyes widened as he turned and looked at the unconscious brunette.

* * *

**A/N**

**Whoaaa she doesn't exist? What? **

**I wonder what's gonna happen next! **

**Thank you all for you alerts and reviews(: They mean so much! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

_There's another world inside of me  
That you may never see  
There're secrets in this life  
That I can't hide  
Somewhere in this darkness  
There's a light that I can't find  
Maybe it's too far away  
Or maybe I'm just blind_

* * *

Natasha sighed, tossing the passport on the bedside table next to Nora's hospital bed. "The only thing different is the name, but there are no records on it either. I doubt anything in that passport is the truth." She explained, turning from Bruce to Agent Hill and Clint.

Bruce was busy touching up the stitches, while Agent Hill looked deep in thought. "I'll have to assign some agents to watch her, and when she wakes up they'll escort her to a holding cell."

"A holding cell?" Bruce repeated, turning to look at Hill.

She nodded, "She attacked three agents, Dr. Banner. I won't be giving her special treatment because she's your patient."

"She's not in her right mind," Bruce shot back. "She's been…_off_ since the flight here. Let me talk to her."

"You barely know her and you think she'll talk to you?" Hill asked, giving him a disbelieving look.

Bruce looked back at the brunette, and hesitated. Slowly, he nodded, "I just…I really think she'll talk to me. Watch from the window," he said, nodding behind him to the windows along the wall looking out into the hallway. "Sound like a plan?" he asked.

Natasha and Clint both looked towards Hill, waiting for an answer. She huffed, "Fine." And turning on her heel, she marched out of the room.

"Good luck." Clint said, nodding his head before following Hill out. Natasha looked at Bruce, wondering what words to wish him, but instead settled on a tight lipped smile and preceded out of the room.

Bruce finished the stitches, and reapplied the gauzes. As he put away his equipment, his eyes glanced at the passport lying aimlessly on the table. He knew it would be an invasion of privacy, but he slowly pushed the cover open; just to see which name she used.

_Nora Louise Hartley_

Bruce sighed, letting the cover fall back against the passport. He took a seat on the bed next to hers and waited.

An hour passed when she finally stirred.

Bruce stood up, readying himself for her to jump or scream or flail around the bed at her restraints.

She moved her head back and forth, a small moan coming from her throat. Her right hand lifted, but barely made it a centimeter off the bed before the restraint held her down. She groaned, before her eyes shot open and she began pulling at her hands desperately.

She lifted her head, not even noticing Bruce, and starting moving her legs that remained in place. Tears poured out of her eyes as panic covered her face and Bruce hurriedly stepped forward.

"Hey, Nora, shh. It's okay!" he said, waving his hands in front of him to get her attention. She didn't appear to hear him, as she continued to pull at her arms and legs.

Bruce stood there, wringing his hands together as he waited for Nora to calm down. He kept glancing at Natasha, Hill and Clint, but they stood there waiting, making no move to come back inside.

"Nora," he tried again, but she was beginning to hyperventilate, continually pulling on her wrists. Her brown hair began to matt and stick to her face, sweat and tears being the glue.

"Deep breathes," Bruce tried, taking a wary step towards her. He took in slow, deep breathes, making sure Nora could hear him breathing.

She coughed, groaned and shook her head back and forth as she tried to calm herself. Biting her lip hard, she took in a long deep breath through her nose, only to return sobbing.

Bruce sighed, running a hand through his dark, salt and pepper like hair. He took another deep breath, moving his hands up and down in front of him slowly to emphasis the importance of her controlling her breathing.

She gulped, taking in shallow and shaky breaths through her mouth, her eyes closed tight behind her sticking hair.

After a few minutes, her tears finally stopped and she stopped shaking, her breathing returning to normal.

A small, shy smile fell on Bruce's lips and he clapped his hands together, "See? Much better." He said, as if talking to a small child.

"B-Bruce…?" She muttered, trying to push her hair out of her eyes by moving her head back and forth.

Bruce hesitated, and glanced back towards the SHIELD agents.

They were still watching, waiting for him to get her to talk. He sighed, and slowly walked forward and quickly pulled away the hairs from her face and brushed it back to the side of her head.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and slightly swollen, and he forced a reassuring smile. "Hi." He muttered, before taking a step back.

She lifted her head slightly, taking in the room. "Why am I restrained?" she asked after a moment, her voice cracking. Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, well, I'm guessing it's a precaution since you attacked and put three agents in the Hospital Ward." He explained.

Nora groaned, letting her head fall back. "They weren't attacking me, were they?" she asked.

Bruce shook his head; "I was told the agent wanted to show you where the cafeteria was."

She groaned, "I'm an idiot."

Bruce took a seat on the bed next to hers, "Why'd you do it?" he asked.

"Are you the one who's supposed to be asking me that?" She returned.

He shook his head, "They wanted to lock you in a containment cell, but I don't think you're a criminal."

"Why?" She shot back, quirking an eyebrow at him.

He paused, before shrugging. "I, uh, I don't really know. But if I'm wrong I'll feel pretty stupid." He explained with a light chuckle in his voice.

She nodded, "I'm no criminal." She made clear, turning to look at the ceiling.

"Well then I don't feel stupid." He paused, "So…why did you attack them?"

"Paranoia." She shrugged.

"That doesn't seem like a good reason. Why were you paranoid?" he asked.

She sighed, "What happens if I don't tell you?"

"You get locked in a containment cell, and you'll probably have to face the repercussions SHIELD has for you. And seeing that it _is_ SHIELD, it probably won't be so nice."

She nodded, "I thought they were going to kill me."

Bruce nodded, "I still don't understand why you think they'd kill you if you say you're not a criminal."

She sighed, "My parents have told me since I was small that if I was ever in the hands of SHIELD or an agent of SHIELD that they'd kill me."

Bruce gave her a confused look. How did her parents know about SHIELD? Who was she related to?

"You knew we were going to SHIELD on the jet, didn't you?" he asked.

She nodded. Bruce crossed his arms, shrugging, "So…why didn't you attack on the plane and get away?"

"Because you were there."

"But you should have figured I worked for SHIELD,"

"Doesn't matter." She interrupted him. He gave her a confused look, and she sighed. "You're a doctor, and even though you kinda look like you can harm a fly, I don't think you would. I trusted you enough to protect me when I thought I was going to be killed, let you put stitches in me without any pain killers, spent a whole day with you just walking around that little city in Calcutta; I didn't want to scare you away with me attacking someone in front of you when I thought we were friends." She explained.

Bruce slowly nodded his head, "I still want to know why your parents thought we'd kill you."

She glanced down at the bed, eyeing her restraints. "Can you undo this?" She asked, avoiding his question.

Bruce shook his head, "If you answer my question I'll see if Agent Hill will."

She gave him a look; "Me thinking they'd kill me because of past experiences should be enough."

"But it isn't a past experience if it's just someone telling you that SHIELD will just kill you when you didn't do anything. What is it that would make them want to kill you?" he asked.

She grew quiet, turning her gaze to the ceiling once more. Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Look," he said, getting her attention. "I want to help you. I'm a doctor, _you're_ doctor, and I'd prefer not to continue with taking your stitches out in a cell. You seem like a nice girl, despite that fact that you lied about your name and your attack on the three agents. You said so yourself you're no criminal, so don't act like one and tell me why you did it." He told her, standing up and crossing to the edge of her bed.

She gave him a hard look, before turning and noticing the three agents standing in the hall, watching. She sighed, letting her head fall back against the pillow, "My family did _bad things_, let's leave it at that. I was supposed to do said bad things as well, but I refused. Growing up, because of the bad things, my family always told me the government was bad, and then they found out about SHIELD and how they protect the innocent from the bad guys. They said SHIELD was bad, and that if they knew who I was they'd kill me." She explained.

Bruce nodded, "Okay, so that's why you were paranoid. You thought they knew who you were."

She nodded, "I stayed up all last night because I thought they'd come into my room and attack me. I mean, it's SHIELD, it can't be that hard for them to track a person down."

Bruce chuckled, remembering the frustration the three agents had shared when Nora's fingerprints came back with no match.

"Well, they have no idea who you are." Bruce reassured her, "But I'd like to know. Is…Is your name really Oswald? Or Daniels?" he questioned.

She sighed, "I should have said Oswald. I panicked and completely forgot the name I had given you." She muttered. "It's really Nora that much is true."

"And…the last name…?" Bruce questioned.

She gulped, "I've had fifteen different last names in the last eleven years…but…my real one I can't seem to forget." Closing her eyes, she muttered, "It's Richter. Nora Richter. There probably aren't any records of me, considering how private and secretive my family was. Now that I think about it, you probably couldn't even find a birth certificate for me." She muttered.

Bruce opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened quickly and Agent Hill, Natasha and Clint walked back in, along with two other agents.

"Ms. Richter." Agent Hill said, nodding at the brunette. Nora gave Hill a confused look, waiting for her to continue.

Hill sighed, "I'm agent Maria Hill of SHIELD, filling in for Director Fury while he's away in Malibu. If it were up to me I would have you held in a containment cell until Director Fury returns, but seeing as the agents you attacked are awake now and don't seem to think you deserve any punishment on their behalf, we will be unbinding you. But, know this, if you attack another SHIELD agent again based solely on paranoia, you will be paying for your crimes." She said, giving her a cold glare.

The two SHIELD agents stepped forward and released her wrists, before moving the blanket from her feet and released her ankles.

Hill and the two agents left, and Nora quickly sat up in the bed, rubbing her slightly red and marked wrists.

She stared curiously at Clint, before turning back to Bruce. "So…I'm okay?" she questioned.

Natasha nodded, "For now. You're lucky you're here as Bruce's guest."

Nora gave the redhead a curious look. "Why?"

Bruce cleared his throat, glancing at Natasha. She crossed her arms, shaking her head, "No reason. If you'll excuse us, Agent Barton and I have work to return to. Bruce." She nodded to the scientist, before the two agents left the room as well.

"What was that about?" Nora asked, swinging her legs over the bed. Bruce shook his head, "Nothing. Uh, I had to re-stitch your arm, by the way. So it'll be a little while more." He said, pointing to her left bicep.

She sighed, "I figured. I knew my arm hurt a little when I was…attacking those guys." She paused, frowning.

Bruce grabbed his bag, "Don't forget your passport." He muttered, before turning and walking out of the room.

He was nearing the elevator when he heard her footsteps behind him.

She was barefoot, her fake passport clutched in her hands. She scratched the back of her neck nervously, "Uh, I don't know where I am." She muttered.

A small smile graced Bruce lips as the elevator doors slid open. "I'll bring you back to your room."

A low grumble came from Nora's stomach, and she quickly looked away from him, hoping her hair could mask her red face, "Actually, just point me in the direction of the cafeteria."

* * *

**A/N**

**What the heck did Nora's family do to learn about SHIELD?! Spoilers: it says what she is in the summary...hah.**

**Thanks everyone who reviewed this story and added it to their alerts and favorites! I'll try to update soon! **

**and, whoa I added random lyrics to the beginning of this story. I'll be doing that to some choice (perhaps all) chapters from now on. They won't be too random, just lyrics that kind of fit the chapter. I like doing that, it's fun(: and I also listen to too much music...**

**Copyright to the music goes to 3 Doors Down! **

**Tell me what you think guys! I love hearing from you!(: Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

_Something has been taken from deep inside of me_

_The secret I've kept locked away, no one can ever see_

_Wounds so deep they never show, they never go away_

_Like moving pictures in my head for years and years, they've played_

* * *

Bruce stood in the examining room shared between him, Natasha and Clint, his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose as he watched the fiftieth airport security video.

He was getting a bit frustrated that nothing, _nothing_ curious happened and not one person was spotted more than once, besides the employees of the airport who passed the background checks, in these tapes when he'd been there for three days.

After the event with Nora, he had barely seen her since showing her to the cafeteria, which he had to ask for help after not being able to find it himself.

She certainly was keeping her distance, even if Bruce was only going to two places throughout the whole base. He wondered where she wandered off to, since staying in her room watching television didn't seem like something she'd enjoy doing for three days straight.

He was just about to pop up the next tape when the door flung open and in walked their fellow Avenger.

"Banner! I heard you were in town." Tony Stark boomed, flashing Bruce a grin as he placed his sun glasses in his pocket.

"Good to see you too, Tony." Bruce said, holding out his hand for a shake. Tony gripped his hand firmly, "I didn't think you'd ever come back from that shack in Calcutta. After all the invitations I've sent you, you come back because Tasha asks?" He said, nodding to the red head. "I'm offended. You know what, next time I'll hire a pretty little blonde to personally invite you, how about that?" he asked, clapping Bruce on the back as he walked around him to look at his research.

Bruce turned to look at Tony, his mouth opened slightly as he tried to figure out a response. "Uh, no, you don't have to do that," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"What's all this junk?" Tony said, shifting through some of the papers. "Tracking down a killer?"

"Tony, this is something private that you do not have permission to see," Clint said, walking over and reaching for the documents.

"Easy, Hawk." Tony said, snatching a file off the table and walking around Bruce. "Ah, assassins." Tony said, picking up and reading the first piece of paper. "Isn't that just you twos department?" he asked, pointing between Clint and Natasha. "What's Banner got to do with it? Unless you just want Hulky to attack 'em."

"Dr. Banner is assisting us in tracking and identifying the assassins." Natasha made clear, annoyance clear in her voice. Tony pouted, "And you didn't invite me?"

"You seemed a bit busy in Malibu." Natasha shrugged, while Clint returned to his seat across from her, looking equally as annoyed.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Don't get me started on that. Biggest idiot I've ever had to fight. Speaking of fighting," he turned and looked at Bruce again, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Heard your girlfriend has quite the punch."

"She's not my girlfriend." Bruce said sternly, turning back to the screen. "She's a patient I'm treating for stitches."

Tony nodded, pursing his lips, "Because it's totally normal for patients to follow their doctors from Calcutta to Pennsylvania." He nodded, obviously not believing it. "She wants the D, and I don't mean Doctor." He said, winking before turning and walked over to Natasha and Clint's table.

Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Tony was one of his very good friends, and he appreciated that Tony wasn't scared of whom he was, and was completely okay with the other guy, but it seemed he really didn't understand the things Bruce couldn't do (or at least he acted like he didn't understand). One of them was giving a girl the '_D_' as he put it. Bruce felt his heart speed up at the mere thought of that in general, and he took in a deep breath.

"Stark, could you please leave? We have work to do, and I don't feel like babysitting." Natasha mused, leaning back in her chair.

Tony had a mock offended look on his face, "I could help, you realize. Why do you think I came here all the way from Malibu?"

"Fine. Then take this seriously before someone else is killed by these people." She shot back. Tony held up his hands, before turning on his heel and walking back over to the table near Bruce.

"So…what has been your strategy so far?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Natasha and I have been looking over footage from the airports near all the attacks, looking for people who appear more than once and look suspicious, while Clint has been doing the background check on everyone in the world who owns their own private plane or jet." Bruce explained, pulling up the next video.

"Sounds highly boring." Tony muttered, picking up a new file.

"Do you have a better idea?" Natasha asked, irritated.

"Someone hasn't been sleeping," Tony muttered under his breath.

"Stark," She said sternly. Tony shrugged, "I would say do comparisons between the people that have died, find what they have in common and then start looking for the killers." He said shrugged.

"Did that." Clint muttered, taping away at a laptop. "They all range from rich guys and gals, to lower middle class rednecks, the only things they could have had in common was that they were humans or had kids." He explained, not looking away from the screen.

Tony sighed, "I really don't want to be stuck in a room watching poor quality security videos." He said, glancing at the screen in front of Bruce.

"Then by all means, leave." Natasha said, waving to the door as she turned back to her screen.

There was a knock at the door, and Natasha pressed a button on the side of the table. In walked a young male SHIELD agent, a little apprehensive.

"Yes?" Natasha asked, annoyed.

"Ms. Richter wants to know if you three will be," he paused, turning to look out in the hall. He whispered something, before turning back and sighing, "She would like to know if you'll be free for dinner?" he questioned.

"Is she out there?" Tony asked, curiously.

"Yes sir."

"Bring her in." Tony said, waving.

"This is a top secret project, Tony." Natasha snapped at him.

"So turn off the monitors and put the papers back in their little folders." He said simply, placing his hands in his pockets as he waited for the agent to finally move out of the way for the girl to walk in.

Bruce didn't see the problem, and he minimized his computer screen, waiting for Nora to walk in. Clint and Natasha both shared a look, before silently agreeing. Clint closed the laptop and Natasha shuffled a few papers into the manila folder next to her, before nodding to the agent to step aside.

He walked out, holding the door open for the apprehensive brunette to walk in.

She stood in the doorway after the agent left, and crossed her arms, "I, uh, I thought I wouldn't be allowed in."

"Ms. Richter!" Tony said happily, walking over and holding out his hand for a shake. "Nancy, was it?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Nora," She corrected, shaking his hand in return. "Aren't you Tony Stark?" She questioned.

He smirked, "You've heard of me. But who hasn't?" he brushed off the question, "Nora Richter, heard you caused quite the stir here the other day,"

Nora took her head back, a small blush appearing on her cheeks, "Uh, it was a misunderstand-"

Tony shook his head, "I saw the tape, fantastic skills. Anyone who can take down three highly qualified SHIELD agents is welcome in my book." He said, patting her on the shoulder.

"Tape?" Nora's mouth was agape.

Tony nodded, "SHIELD has video cameras all over the place. Saw it all, you are a very skilled fighter. Maybe you and Tasha can go against each other one of these days, throw some mud in there," he said, looking between the two girls.

Natasha sent him a glare, while Nora's blush deepened. "Uh, I just,"

"Nora," Bruce said, interrupting the two, "You wanted us for dinner?" he asked, hoping to spare her from more embarrassment from Tony.

She nodded, "Yes! You three have been cooped up in here the last couple of days, I thought I could order a pizza or something and we could all eat together." She suggested.

Clint grinned, "A pizza? Beats TV dinners from the cafeteria." He said happily.

Tony nodded, "I'm all for Nora's idea." He said, pointing to the brunette.

Bruce hesitated, before shrugging. "Pizza does sound nice," he said, looking towards the redhead.

She was very adamant about getting this job done as soon as possible, and stopping in the middle of it all to sit around a table and eat pizza with each other was not something that would get this job done quicker. She looked sternly towards the three men in the room.

"We'll work until it gets here. Stark will have to pick it up." She said simply.

"Me?" Tony looked baffled.

Natasha nodded, "We can't have a pizza delivery boy drive over fifty miles to bring us a pizza. Besides, isn't your suit faster than driving?" she questioned. "Go buy a pizza, fly it back here. It's possible, isn't it?"

Tony paused, "I can fly and carry things, but I've never carried a pizza before." He mused, thinking it over.

"If we don't need Iron Man in the future you could invest in selling the suits to pizza delivery guys." Clint chuckled, while Tony rolled his eyes, "The world will always need Iron Man." He said simply.

He turned on his heel, "I'll be back then. Any requests?" he asked, looking around the room as he walked towards the door.

"Anything but anchovies." Nora made a face, and Bruce stiffened a chuckle. "Pepperoni is fine." He offered. Nora nodded happily, "And sesame seed crust!" She turned to look at Bruce, "I haven't had that in forever." She whispered excitedly.

Clint and Natasha both nodded in agreement, and Tony headed out of the room. "Be back soon! Don't find the assassins without me!" he called over his shoulder, closing the door.

Nora quirked an eyebrow, "Assassins?" She questioned. Natasha quickly stood up, "Perhaps you should go wait outside for Tony while we get back to work." She suggested, leading her out.

Nora glanced back over her shoulder, looking towards Bruce, before Natasha closed the door and typed in a code on the keypad next to the door.

Clint gave her a look, which she caught. "We can't be entertaining her while we have work." She said simply, walking back to her chair.

"You don't like her, do you?" Clint questioned, opening the laptop.

"I don't trust her." She said simply.

Bruce glanced over at them, but decided against saying anything. He just wanted to get this done.

Clint dropped the subject, shrugging his shoulders and turning back to the computer screen.

The time seemed to pass rather slowly, and Bruce continued to glance at the small window in the door looking out at the hall. He could see brown hair at the very edge of the window, standing out against the white painted hallway.

Nora was standing outside, waiting for Tony like Natasha had asked. Although, Bruce figured Natasha wanted her not just out of the room but perhaps out of the building. If Natasha didn't trust her, there was a high possibility she also thought she was a threat.

"Huh." Clint muttered.

Natasha and Bruce both looked towards him, waiting. "Did you find something?" Bruce asked.

Clint shrugged, "Maybe." He stood up, bringing the laptop over to one of the digital glass computers. He pulled a thin wire out of the laptop, connected it to a port in the wall, and the screen on the small laptop disappeared and reappeared on the digital monitor.

A picture of an older gentleman stared back at Bruce and Natasha; he had dark grey eyes and short grey hair.

"This is Niklas Brandt, a multimillion dollar casino owner. He has casinos all over the world, and his resides in Leipzig, Germany. He owns five private jets, and he has a reputation for holding a grudge." Clint explained.

"He's been taken to court fifteen times for kidnapping and possible murder cases, but was found innocent or the case was thrown out because of lack of evidence. I figured that's enough to put him down on our suspect list." Clint said, pulling up a new page with a German article explain his last trial.

Natasha nodded, "I'll dig a bit deeper, see what SHIELD has on him. Good work Clint." She said, walking back to her seat.

A small smile appeared on Clint's lips, and he unplugged the laptop and returned to his seat as well.

Bruce had no idea what the time was when the doorknob on the door giggled, but refused to open. There was a loud knock on the door and Natasha pressed the same button on the side of the table and Tony walked back in, a black zip-closed pizza bag delivery boys used in his arms.

"Pizza's here!" he called, before turning on his heels and walking out. He turned down the hall, Nora following behind him.

Clint and Bruce walked out, while Natasha pressed in a security code on the pad outside of the door, locking the room.

They followed Tony to private room with a table, eight chairs and a large television on the wall.

"Tony, this is one of our debriefing rooms." Clint said as he took a seat. Tony shrugged, "It's better than eating in the cafeteria and having everyone drool over our awesome dinner." He explained, pulling two large pizza boxes out of the bags.

"I have no idea how they look considering how fast I was flying, so don't get mad at me." He said, pulling some paper plates and napkins out of the bag.

Clint and Natasha both took a seat on one side of the table, Nora and Bruce on the other, with Tony sitting at the head.

Nora and Clint both opened the boxes, and Tony let out a cheer when he saw they looked completely normal. One pizza was pepperoni, and the other an everything pizza, minus the anchovies. Nora still made a face at that pizza, and settled for two slices of pepperoni.

"Great idea, Nora." Tony said, taking a bite of his everything slice. She smiled, dabbing her mouth with her napkin, "Thank you, Tony."

"How's your stay here been?" Tony asked, looking her over from his seat. She shrugged, "Quiet. Minus the first day," She added, staring down at her plate nervously. Tony smirked, "It's pretty boring here if you aren't a SHIELD agent or an Avenger." He shrugged.

"Avenger?" Nora questioned. "You mean that group of people who got rid of those aliens last year? They're here?"

"You're looking at 'em." Tony said. She nodded, "Well, I know _you're_ an Avenger. I didn't know you three were," She said, looking between Bruce, Natasha and Clint.

Tony nodded, "The teams own master assassins and,"

"Their personal doctor." Bruce cut in, giving Nora a tight lipped smile before looking over at Tony. He raised his eyebrows at the scientist, before shrugging his shoulders. He figured it wasn't his secret to tell the girl, but he did want to be there when she found out. He had high hopes for this girl. Tony could feel it.

Nora grinned, "That's exciting. Here I am, a girl who worked from behind a computer screen in her home for the last eleven years eating with such important people."

"Behind the screen? What did you do?" Tony questioned. "I helped people plan and organize their vacations." She explained.

"We learn something knew about you every day." Natasha muttered. Nora gulped, placing her pizza slice back on her plate and wiping her hands.

"If…if you have questions you can ask them. I'm okay with talking about some things." She muttered quietly towards Natasha.

"Who trained you?" Tony piped up. "My father, uncle and brother." Nora answered automatically.

"Where are you from?" Clint asked.

"Sacramento, California."

"Why'd you come to Calcutta?" Bruce asked, turning to look at her. She paused, "I was running from something."

"What?" Natasha asked.

She shook her head, "That's something I'm not comfortable with."

"You're single?" Tony asked. Nora chuckled, giving him a pointed look, "I'm not looking for a relationship right now, if that's what you want to know."

Tony frowned, sticking out his bottom lip as he did, and looked at Bruce. Bruce ignored the billionaire's look, and grabbed another slice of pizza.

Natasha waited with her arms crossed for Clint, Tony and Bruce to finish eating, and finally, with half of each pie left, she stood up. "Time to get back to work, boys." She called, walking to the door.

Nora stood up, moving the pizzas into one box and tossing the used paper plates and napkins into the other. Bruce stood to help her, but she shook her head, "You got work to do, Doc." She smirked.

He nodded, "See you around." He called, following Clint out of the room. Tony stood by the door, giving the brunette one final look before disappearing as well.

* * *

Bruce was very tired. It was nearing eleven o'clock and he had just left the research room after Natasha insisted he call it a night, and the only thing they found on Niklas Brandt was what Clint had found, which left them at another dead end. He hoped they found another lead in the morning.

As he turned the corner of the hall towards his room he saw a SHIELD agent standing against the wall, doing nothing_. 'That's strange'_ Bruce thought, but when he turned to look towards his room at the end of the hall, he was startled to see the familiar brunette sitting outside his door.

"Nora?" he questioned, walking up to her. She looked at him, smiling sheepishly. "Hey, Doc, uh, Bruce, uh," She paused, "I'll just call you Bruce from now on." She muttered, sticking the tip of her thumb nail between her teeth.

He stared at her a moment, "Uh, what are you doing here?" he asked.

She nodded, pushing herself up off the floor, "I just wanted to say goodnight."

Bruce gave her a strange look, before slowly nodding his head. "Okay," he trailed off, "Goodnight."

She nodded, "Goodnight."

As he walked past her and pulled the key to his room out of his pocket, she cleared her throat. "Do you, have you," she paused, "Have you finished up your job here?" she asked hesitantly.

Bruce shook his head, turning the knob on his door, "We have a suspect, but no real leads. But they can't hide forever."

She nodded, "It has something to do with assassins, right?" she questioned.

Bruce turned to look at her, "Look, you seem like a pretty smart girl to me, albeit paranoid with plenty of secrets, but smart nonetheless. So take my advice," he leaned in a bit closer to her, "Don't stick your nose in SHIELD business. You heard Tony, cameras are everywhere. If you get nosey in this, something could happen to you, okay?" he explained.

She nodded, staring down at her feet. "I just…I wanted to know if I could help. I feel a bit useless here,"

"You don't want to help." Bruce interrupted her. "I'll get your stitches out in a few days and you can go on…" he paused, "Running."

She frowned, "It's lonely running." She muttered. "I kinda like it here. I feel a hell of a lot safer here than running around and letting my paranoia grow."

Bruce stared down at his feet, memories flooding back to him. He shook his head, "I-I'm sorry," he muttered, before disappearing inside his room.

Nora stared at the empty space Bruce was standing previously, before sighing. She turned on her heel, walking down the hall and back to her room.

* * *

**A/N**

**We are a little closer to knowing about Nora's past. Whoaa.**

**Copyright to the lyrics used go to Linkin Park! Song titled: Easier To Run. **

**NEXT CHAPTER: another Avenger is introduced. Can anyone guess who? ;) **

**Also, I made a really crappy looking "cover" for this story. I suppose that's what I want Nora to look like..but I imagine her hair a bit darker, and her eyes are a greenish-hazel color (i can't tell that girl's eye color, and I don't have photoshop so I couldn't really change the color of anything). But yeah. Enjoy the crappy, made-in-Microsoft-paint cover I made. lol**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed and added this story to your alerts! You guys rock! Stay tuned! Now that I am OFFICALLY done with High School, I have all summer to work on this before I start college!(: Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

_But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell_  
_I know right now you can't tell_  
_But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see_  
_A different side of me_

* * *

Nora clicked away at the SHIELD computer screen, stealing glances every few minutes at the agent that had been told to accompany her since her incident the first day.

She had asked him if there was anywhere she could go to use a computer, and he'd shown her to a public work room where most of the agents were. She had picked a computer in the back corner, hoping not to disturb any of the hard working agents.

She was looking at apartments in New York City, as well as checking the multiple bank accounts she had for herself. One of her precautions when she left home eleven years ago; setting up different bank accounts with just enough money in each account for an apartment.

Her main account at the moment held most of her money, and she wondered if it would be okay to splurge and get a B rated apartment instead of a D.

She glanced at the agent again, sighing. She shrugged off her dark blue sweatshirt and looked at the gauzes covering her left bicep. She figured she had another three days until Bruce removed her stitches and she was free to go.

She pulled her sweatshirt back on, closing out of her page on the computer, and moved to stand. The agent watching her adjusted his jacket, and waited for her to start walking. She hated this. She didn't want to be followed for the next three days. It didn't help her paranoia.

She turned down the hall and noticed something on the wall she hadn't seen before.

"You have a gym here?" She questioned, turning to look at the agent. The agent, who she guessed was supposed to act as though he wasn't following her, looked slightly surprised that she knew of his presence.

He nodded his head. She pondered over this, "Can I go there?" she questioned. He paused, before slowly nodding his head once again.

She smiled, following the arrow on the wall and turning left. She walked down a few flights of stairs until she saw a large sign over two double doors labeled 'Gym'.

She pushed through the doors, shrugging off her sweatshirt and staring in awe at the room. A number of treadmills lined the walls, weights, punching bags, and dozens of other equipment Nora had no idea what was called was set up throughout the room. And in the back she could see a ring for wrestling and fights.

She hurried over to one of the punching bags, kicking off her flip flops and throwing her jacket on top of it. "Do you have," she didn't even have to finish her sentence when the agent handed her the familiar thin white athletic tape. She thanked him, wrapping her knuckles in them before taking in a few deep breaths.

She used her right fist mostly, and practiced her kicking. Beads of sweat quickly formed on her forehead and she grew winded quickly.

She stopped after five minutes, taking in a deep breath. It had been so long since she actually worked out, nearly seven years now that she thought about it.

She sighed, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, and continued with her punches. She was there for nearly a half hour before another agent walked in, carrying a small duffle bag on his arms.

Nora glanced at him as he stood a few feet away from her, studying her. He was tall, much taller than her, possibly six foot. He had blond hair brushed to the side of his face, and the amount of muscles he had gave Nora the impression he came here a lot.

She stopped her punches, and looked towards him, "Yes?" She questioned.

He jumped, a small blush appearing on his cheeks as he walked over to a punching bag a few ways away from her. "Sorry ma'am, I just, I've never seen you here before." He said sincerely.

She nodded; pulling her ponytail tighter as she watched the blond wrapped his knuckles in the athletic tape. "I'm a guest here for a few days. I'm Nora," She stuck out her hand for his to shake.

He quickly finished wrapping his left hand before reaching over and shaking hers, "Steve Rogers."

She nodded, "Right, right. Nora _Richter_." She corrected herself, remembering that it was okay here to use her last name. Steve nodded, "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Richter."

"Nora, please." She insisted, turning back to her punching bag. Steve nodded, "Who are you here with, if I might ask?" he asked.

She looked over at him mid punch, "Uh, do you know Dr. Banner?" she questioned. Steve nodded, giving her a curious look. "You're Dr. Banner's guest?" he questioned.

She internally cringed. Has this guy heard of her too? She nodded her head, waiting for the guy to continue as she struck the punching bag.

Steve remained quiet, starting his own punching routine.

Nora was impressed how he didn't run out of breath as quickly as she did; of course he looked like he worked out every day when the only time she had worked out in the past seven years was when…

She paused, stopping mid kick, losing her balance and falling to the floor.

Steve quickly stopped his punches and walked over to her, as did her assigned agent who had been standing by the far wall.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked.

She nodded, rubbing her butt as she chuckled, "I just…spaced." She muttered. "That hurt," she muttered, looking over her shoulder at her behind.

Steve chuckled, "I don't think you sustained too much damage."

She shrugged, "You aren't the doctor, though, are you?"

She shook her head; quickly glancing at her gauzes to make sure her work out hadn't stressed her stitches. She sighed happily to see no red tainted the bright whiteness of the gauzes, and she made to stand up.

Steve beat her to it, holding out his hand to help her. She accepted his hand, and he pulled her to her feet easy.

She began pulling at her tape, looking over at the agent wearily. "I'm gonna head out," She muttered, looking back at the blond. "Nice meeting you, Steve." She said, pocketing the tape, picking up her jacket and shoes and turning to leave.

"Nice meeting you too," Steve called.

She held the door open for the agent, a smug look on her face. He hesitated, before walking out first. She hurried in front of him, knowing he had to follow her and not the other way around.

She made her way up the stairs, glancing up at the security cameras on the ceiling.

* * *

Tony stared at the screen, a small smirk on his lips. "It looks like the spit fire has met the Capsicle."

Bruce looked over at Tony, "I thought you were watching the security footage from March 21st, 2009?" he questioned.

Tony shrugged, "I got bored, hacked into the security footage here, and found your guest getting comfy in the gym."

"Tony," Natasha said in a warning tone. He ignored her, "She's probably training for that mud fight. I'll mark it in my calendar," he said, pulling out his phone.

Bruce walked over, watching the security footage. She was restraining from using her left fist, and continually punched with her right and practiced her kick on both legs. Just as she brought her right leg up, she paused, and lost her balance, causing her to fall over.

"Not so graceful." Tony cringed. Bruce watched as Nora and Steve talked back and forth, and Steve helping her up.

He felt his hand twitch slightly as he saw them touch, and he turned away and walked back to his station of the room. Why in the world did he feel that? It was almost like he wanted to clench his fists at their contact. Why would he do that? Steve was helping her up; he was going to get a tiny bit angry that his team mate helped his patient up.

He took in a breath, and returned to work.

* * *

Nora stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at her stomach and legs curiously. All the scars had faded to thin barely visible white lines and any black and blues she'd received over the years had disappeared long ago. She pulled some of her hair out of her face and saw the thin scar on the right side of her face by her ear.

She cringed, and looked down at the damp white gauzes. She'd be adding another scar to the list.

She heard a knocking at the door and grabbed the SHIELD issued robe that she had found in her bathroom, gripped it closed and swung open her door.

Bruce stood there awkward, his hands gripping his doctor's bag. "Ready?" he questioned.

She nodded, before quickly shaking her head. "Let me, uh," she glanced down at herself. "Let me change." She said quickly before closing the door and walking over to her bag.

She quickly threw on a pair of tattered jean shorts and a grey v neck t-shirt. She stepped into her flip flops and walked back to the door, giving Bruce a grin, "Ready."

He nodded, leading her down the hallway. Nora glanced over her shoulder and saw the agent following them.

Bruce noticed her look and he turned around, "Uh, I have it from here. You can take a break." He said, a bit unsure if the agent would listen to him.

The agent looked a bit scared that Bruce had spoken to him, but after a moment regained his cool composure. "It's my job to accompany Ms. Richter during her stay here."

Bruce sighed, giving Nora and apologetic look as the three of them walked into the elevator and proceeded to the lab.

Nora stared around in awe at the shiny, science perfect room. She figured a scientist would go gaga for this room.

Bruce waved her to a silver table Nora knew wasn't for operating on, and she smiled at the fluffy white pillow that looked out of place in the room. Nora took a seat, and noticed that the agent wasn't in the room, but standing outside the closed glass door.

"Why in here instead of the hospital ward?" She questioned, lying down.

Bruce was washing his hands, his glasses now firmly placed on his nose, "That agent has permission to follow us into a hospital ward, labs are off limits though." He smirked.

Nora brought her hands together as if to pray, "Thank you!" she said happily. He shrugged, grabbing a small silver table with wheels on it, and wheeled it over to his stool next to the table.

He removed the gauzes, a small smile appearing on his lips when he saw her arm looked in tip top shape, besides the little knots and suture material laced up the pink flesh.

He cleaned up her arm with some antiseptic, grabbed a small pair of tweezers and the hemostat, and began his work.

Nora felt a pinch as each stitch was removed, but other than that she remained a lot calmer than she was getting them in. She stared around the room, eyeing everything with curiosity.

"I'm guessing you're also a scientist or something since you have access to the lab?" she questioned, turning to look at him.

He nodded, "Good guesser."

She smirked triumphantly, before turning her head to look at the ceiling. A comfortable silence took over as, little by little, Nora was becoming stitch free.

She watched the clock near the door change from noon to one o'clock, and she glanced to the side to see how far Bruce was coming.

He caught her eye, "I have about ten more to go." He told her, as if reading her mind. She smiled, "Finally." She muttered.

As Nora listened to the last snipping of Bruce's hemostat, she felt a pang of guilt wash over her suddenly. She had pushed herself into this man's life when he hadn't asked her to, and found out some things she knew his patients back in Calcutta had no idea of. Here she was, still a box full of secrets when she probably knew all of Bruce's.

She looked down the shy scientist, and took him in. His slightly curl dark hair with the hints of grey near his ears, his intense brown eyes, and his face when he was concentrating. She remembered the times she'd seen him smile, really smile, and she liked how it brightened his face. He had been nothing but nice to her since she met him, and here she was practically taking advantage of it. The least she could do was be honest before she'd have to leave.

"Hey, Bruce," She muttered, playing with the hem of her shirt. She could trust him. She sighed, turning her head to look at him. He was still concentrating on removing her stitches, but she could tell he was listening, waiting for her to continue.

"Would you…would you mind if I told you why I've been running?" she asked. "I'd feel a lot better if I was completely honest with you, since you've pretty much been honest with me this whole time."

"I have?" Bruce questioned, glancing up at her.

She shrugged as best she could without moving her left arm, "More or less. I mean, I don't know everything about it, but the fact I know a bit more than your other patients is pretty big, huh? So I just thought the least I could do was be honest with you since I'm probably going to be told to leave."

"You don't have to do-," Bruce started, but Nora shook her head. "I want to." She said sternly.

Bruce paused, before nodding his head and turning back to her arm. "I'm listening." He told her.

She nodded, wondering where to begin. "My dad and uncle were highly skilled in what they did. They lived in Germany for a few years growing up, and my grandfather was a doctor, which is where they learned how to deliver babies and stuff. Anyway, my dad and uncle came to America when they were eighteen and twenty, and they made a ton of money working and opening up their own construction company. They closed their business down some time later though, and just started gambling, which only led them to more money." She paused, taking in a breath.

"My dad was nearing thirty when he met and married my mom. He was always very paranoid people were trying to kill him and my uncle because of their wealth, so he began learning how to defend himself with my uncle. My mom had my brother and my sister within two years, and as they grew up my dad starting teaching them how to defend themselves. With learning how to fight, a new family business came to my dad.

"You know bail bonds people? They kind of did that, only a bit more…serious if you couldn't pay us back and it was loans for everything, not just helping someone bail someone out of jail. It was some serious business and we moved a lot, my mom homeschooling my brother and sister. It was insane how it seemed like we didn't exist in the real world; no birth certificate, no social security card. I was sort of like a big surprise to my family, coming around when my brother and sister were nearing teenage years. I was the odd one out, I suppose. You know how if you're raised a certain way, you grow up thinking that way is right? That was my brother and sister. Even though I was raised with these people who fought to kill people I never enjoyed it. Even in my training growing up I refused to practice killing techniques. I just couldn't do it." She paused, remembering the yelling her father and brother would do when she refused to practice how to snap someone's neck.

"When I was eighteen I told them I didn't want to do what they did, I wanted to be normal I suppose. I wanted to have friends and a house I didn't have to leave after a month, a guy that my father wouldn't fight and recruit him into our mafia like family. They understood, but I would be shunned from the family." She turned to Bruce and gave him a stern look, "I love my family, but I just couldn't be a part of that. My father gave me a very small fortune to get on my feet and I left the day of my eighteenth birthday." She turned back to the ceiling. Her eyes were beginning to blur as the memories were pulled back to the front of her mind.

"Not even an hour after I left our home was set on fire. Apparently my father, uncle and brother had killed a man for not paying back a ten thousand dollar loan and the man they killed was not someone you wanted to upset. He had friends, I think, that were worse than my family. They came after us, and they killed them all." Her voice cracked, and she turned her head away from Bruce. "They knew who I was though." She muttered. "They saw my picture in the house, and they counted the corpses. They were missing one so they came after me. I was living in this woman's spare room in Bakersfield California when they found me. I fought them off, got a few scars from when they pulled a knife on me, but I got away. I ran until my feet bled, and I took a bus to Texas. I lived in San Angelo for almost a year when they found me again, that's when I got this," She brought her right hand up and ran a finger down the right side of her face, when the thin white scar sat under her ear.

"After that was Alaska, but I only lasted about five months there, and then I went all over Canada. Four weeks ago they found me again, and I packed up two of my drawers, grabbed my passport and ran. I bought a ticket for the first flight leaving and it was to India. When I landed I closed my eyes, pointed to a place on the map in the airport, and it landed on Calcutta. I'm glad it did," She said, giving Bruce a wide smile. "You're probably my first friend ever, and it's been eleven years. I'm glad it was you."

Bruce felt his cheeks heat up some, and he cleared his throat, "I-I'm glad I met you too, Nora." He told her, looking her in the eyes. He looked back down, snipping the last of the material out of her arm.

"Done." He said, smiling. Nora beamed, straining her neck to look at her arm. She could see the long pink line where her flesh had once been cut open.

Bruce reached onto the table and cleansed the skin, before wrapping her arm with a new set of gauzes. "Don't strain this arm too much, leave the bandages on for about five days, and try not to get too hot because there is a chance it could open up again."

Nora nodded, moving to sit up. "How much longer do you think before I can strain it and go to hot places?" She asked.

Bruce shrugged, "Three weeks, maybe?" he questioned. "I'd say four weeks, but you've done well enough, so three is a possibility."

She nodded, swinging her legs back and forth as she watched Bruce bring the equipment back towards the sink to wash them.

She wondered what he thought of her now; of where she came from. "Uh, Bruce?"

He looked at her over his shoulder, and just as she opened her mouth someone walked noisily into the lab.

Nora jumped, but Bruce seemed indifferent from it, like he was expecting loud noises.

Tony gave her a big smirk, "I see you're all stitch free." He said, nodding to her arm. She nodded, moving her hand to bite her nail but stopped herself.

"This means you're leaving?" Tony questioned, looking between Nora to Bruce. "I am," she told him, "I was thinking Colorado or,"

"How about New York City?" Tony questioned, placing his hands in his pockets. Nora gave him a look, "New York?"

He nodded, "Well it's come to my attention you've been looking for an apartment somewhere and I thought I'd help you with it." He pointed to her left arm, "Like Bruce said, you can't strain that thing right now, and you don't know when those killers will be after you,"

"You were listening?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms. Tony rolled his eyes, "It's not like I have anything better to do here."

He turned back towards Nora, "Stark Tower is pretty much the safest place besides here, not including my place in Malibu; it's got the top security system in the universe, if I do say so myself, and I have a spare room there. Stay there, free of charge, until you can defend yourself again, and if you like it, maybe I'll get you a job there so you can stay permanently." He shrugged, "It's a suggestion."

Nora gawked at him, as did Bruce.

"I didn't know you were so nice, Tony." Nora mused.

He shrugged, "I'm a big teddy bear under all the sexiness and stubble."

She smirked, before nodding, "A-Alright, fine. But I hope you don't bill me for damages if something does happen."

He shook his head, "Whatever damages happen, I doubt you'd be able to afford it."

Nora chuckled and Tony turned to look at Bruce, "Fury's back and he wants you and me in the research room we've been using ASAP."

Bruce nodded, pocketing his glasses. He turned to Nora, and gave her a small wave before following Tony out.

* * *

**A/N**

**It's midnight so I've decided I'm posting this without proof reading because I need to get up at 7 in the morning because I AM GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL TOMORROW**

**whoaaa**

**so when I come home (if i get the time between all the parties) I will proof read. if not, I'll do it sunday. But hopefully there isn't anything crazy bad in this chapter (fingers crossed)**

**Anyway, introduced STEVE. i love steve. I actually have the first chapter of a fic I wanted to write about him on my laptop, but it's mostly a fluff fic, and I want SOME drama/cray cray stuff to happen. So my Steve fic won't be seeing the light of day for now.**

**The song I used is "Unwell" by Matchbox 20, which I do not own.**

**as always, thank you everyone who reviewed, favorited and added this story to their alerts! Review this chapter as a graduation present to me!(: Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

Bruce and Tony walked into the research room; Fury stood there waiting, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

Natasha and Clint both stood in front of their usual table, their arms behind their back and their faces blank, waiting for Fury to speak.

Once the door closed behind Bruce and Tony, Fury began.

"I believe I entrusted this assignment to you two," Fury said, glaring at Natasha and Clint. "So explain why Stark and Banner are here."

"We're sorry, sir, but we needed help tracking these guys." Clint explained.

"And we only invited Dr. Banner; Stark showed up here on his own accord." Natasha added, giving Tony a pointed look.

"I don't care, I gave you an assignment for the two of you only; if you wanted to bring Dr. Banner you should have filed a report and sent it to me." Fury said angrily.

"We're sorry, Sir." Clint shot back, answering for him and Natasha.

"Have you found anything after bringing in these two?" he demanded, nodding towards Tony and Bruce.

"We had a lead, but we can't prove anything, and SHIELD had no records on him." Natasha explained.

Fury looked towards Bruce and Tony, and Tony held up his hands, "Don't look at me, I didn't find anything. Of course, my interest in this assignment deteriorated when I found out I'd have to watch security footage for a week, so I wasn't really giving my '_one hundred and ten percent_.'" He explained.

Bruce fumbled for words when Fury looked at him, and he motioned to the monitor he'd been using the last week and half. "I haven't found anything useful, Director."

Fury glared at the four of them, before turning to Natasha and Clint. "The two of you are suspended for this case until further notice."

Clint and Natasha's face remained emotionless, but Bruce knew them better. He figured they were protesting on the inside. He doubted they had ever been suspended from a SHIELD case before.

"Since the two of you couldn't handle the simple job of tracking some assassins on your own, you will be called back in to _collect_ the assassins, and only to collect them. Am I clear?" Fury growled.

Clint and Natasha both gave him a curt nod.

Fury turned to look at Tony and Bruce, "And the two of you are suspended indefinitely from this case, _period_."

Bruce nodded, while Tony rolled his eyes.

"Is something the matter, Stark?" Fury shot at him. Tony held up hands once again, "You're just so official. '_Indefinitely'_, '_period'_, we get it. You finished your sentence; you don't need to say it."

Bruce held back a small smirk, while Fury sent daggers at Tony. "The four of you are dismissed. I don't want to see any of you," he stared pointedly at Tony, "for the rest of the day." And with that, he walked out of the room, while a number of agents walked in and began packing up their research.

"Well since our week and a half long sleepover here is over, anyone want Chinese? I'm starving." Tony asked, pulling out his phone to find the nearest restaurant. Clint and Natasha ignored him, turning down a different hallway together most likely heading to the shooting range to blow off their anger.

Bruce shook his head, "Nah, I'm gonna go pack, I'm sure SHIELD is already arranging my departure."

Tony scuffed, "Who says you're leaving?"

Bruce gave him a look, while Tony shrugged. "I finally got you out of that shack; I'm not letting you leave, _obviously_. You're coming to Stark Tower with me."

"Why?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms.

"Fury wants me to start designing a little _'Avengers'_ headquarters thing, and I'm gonna need someone to help me start the blueprints." Tony explained, looking towards Bruce. "You will be living there too you know; easier to get adjusted to it if you design it."

Bruce hesitated, "And…you invited Nora to Stark Tower to help us?" he asked curiously. Tony turn down the hall, and Bruce followed him. "You were there; you know why I invited her."

"I think I know you better than that." Bruce shot back, not believing a word.

Tony paused, pursing his lips as he thought. "Curiosity?" Tony shot out, an equally curious look on his face as he tested the word out.

"Curiosity?" Bruce asked, quirking an eyebrow as they came to a stop outside the gym doors.

Tony nodded, "I want to know what she can do; there isn't anything wrong with it."

Bruce looked him over, studying his face, "You want to know what she can do?" he repeated.

"Is there an echo in here?" Tony questioned while pushing open the gym doors, waving his hand.

Bruce looked inside, and saw exactly what was giving Tony a wide smirk.

Nora stood in the wrestling ring with another female agent a few years older than her. The grey t-shirt she had worn when Bruce removed her stitches had been long discarded on the floor and she was clad in a grey sports bra and her shorts, barefoot, while the agent was covered a bit more in sweats and a large SHIELD t-shirt.

Nora had her beat, it was obvious. She was sparring with only her right arm, but it was no disadvantage. Nora held her left arm in front of her, blocking the agent's punches. As the agent swung her leg out to knock Nora off her feet she jumped as if playing jump rope, and fell back against the rubber ropes around the ring.

Nora kicked up her legs and kicked the agent back before getting to her feet again. The agent charged at her, and Nora grabbed her wrist with her left hand and punched her across the face with her right. The agent grabbed Nora's left hand with her left and kicked out her ankle, causing the two of them to fall onto the floor.

Nora hit it with a loud thud, and she let go of the agent and grabbed her ponytail, yanking her off of her. Nora rolled over and on top of the agent, gripped her wrists together and in one swift movement, flipped the agent over onto her stomach, pinning her down.

Tony clapped loudly, causing the two women to look up and over in Tony and Bruce's direction. Nora flushed slightly, jumping off the agent and hurrying to grab her shirt, while Tony smirked. "Oh yeah, she's gonna be fun to play with."

* * *

Nora stood awkwardly in the main foyer of Stark Tower. She watched as men and women in fancy business suits walk swiftly through the large foyer, walking towards the elevators, scanning their hands and typing in codes before stepping on the machine.

She readjusted the strap on her bag as she saw a woman with strawberry blonde hair approach her. She gave Nora a warm smile, "Hello, I'm Virginia Potts, I'm CEO of Stark Industries and I'll be helping you get settled today while Tony and Bruce are working in the lab." She explained, holding out her hand to shake.

Nora shook her hand, remembering how Tony had said a woman named Potts would be helping her. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Potts."

She chuckled, shaking her head, "Call me Pepper. This way," She said, waving her down a hallway.

The two women walked down the hall, Nora trailing behind slightly as she looked at all the framed photos of Tony Stark, Tony Stark as Iron Man, and Howard Stark, Tony's father.

Pepper stopped in front of a large door, pressed in a pin number on the pad on the wall, and the door slid open. "This way," Pepper instructed, waving for Nora to walk in first.

She did, tensing as she looked around the small room, studying every inch.

Pepper noticed how tense she was, but ignored it as she walked over to the glass computer monitor and began typing away.

"Because of how famous Tony is and how many enemies he's attracted over the years, as Iron Man and for what Stark Industries used to do, Tony has the best kind of security system in the world, he says in the galaxy but I doubt that," She chuckled, and a white screen popped up on the monitor, "Place your hand there, please. Certain floors require a hand print scan." She explained.

Nora nodded, placing her hand on the screen. A red light scanned over her hand on the computer, before a green check mark appeared.

Nora took her hand back, while Pepper began typing in a few things. She looked towards Nora, "You're about…five foot five?" She questioned.

Nora shrugged, "Just about."

Pepper nodded, typing it in on the computer. She continued on, typing in her hair color and shape of her face; she looked back at Nora, "Are your eyes green or hazel?" she questioned.

"Hazel." Nora muttered, feeling uneasy that her entire description was being inputting on a computer.

"Pick four numbers." Pepper said, pulling up a new window.

"Huh?"

"It's for your pin, you can pick it. You'll need it to take the elevator up to the ten floors used for living casually. Those will also be the only floors you're allowed on, since the other sixty are for Stark Industries." Pepper explained.

Nora nodded, pondering what numbers to pick. Her birthday was a no, and the current year was out. Four numbers, four numbers…

"One, one, zero, three." Nora told her quickly, the ghost of a smile begging to appear on her lips.

Pepper typed them in, "Be sure not to tell anyone those numbers, alright? Otherwise they'll be able to access those floors."

One last window came up, and Pepper stepped aside, "One last thing to scan; everyone working and living in the building is required to have a retinal scan on file, in case of extreme emergencies." She said, stepping aside for Nora to step up.

She gulped, gripping the strap on her bag tighter as she brought her face close to the screen.

"Don't blink." Pepper advised as she pressed a button on the screen and a bright light moved down the screen, flashing into Nora's eyes.

She clenched her jaw, trying her hardest not to blink in the intense red light, and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the red light disappeared.

She stepped back, rubbing her eyes with her fist as Pepper finished up typing on the computer. "Alright, you're in the system. I'll give you a tour,"

She paused, looking Nora over. "You do know it's nearly fifty degrees outside, right?" She asked, eyeing the stringy jean shorts. Nora nodded, nervously rubbing the back of her neck, "I'm guessing Tony told you everything about me?" she asked.

Pepper slowly nodded, waiting for Nora to give her an explanation. Nora nodded, "Well, I didn't have a lot of time to pack before I ran for India, and I didn't even know where I'd go at first. I just threw my jeans and shirts in my bag. When I got to India, I cut up all my jeans into shorts because of the heat." She explained. "I haven't had the time to go buy appropriate clothes for this weather."

Pepper nodded, "Well, then," She pulled out her phone, tapped a number and pressed it to her ear. After a moment, she spoke, "I just wanted to let you know I'm taking Nora shopping. She doesn't have any winter clothes, and I can get to know our new guest." She said, giving Nora a warm smile.

Nora quickly shook her head, "Y-You don't have to do that," She whispered, but Pepper turned away from her. "Yes, we'll be back before six. Yes, I know, you told me. Alright, bye." She said, before pocketing her phone. "That was Tony; he's more than happy that I'm helping you expand your wardrobe. Come on, he said he's sending a car around."

"You really don't have to do this," Nora started, quickly unzipping her bag to try and find a hoodie. She didn't like the idea of going clothes shopping. There were too many people, too many people she had to be aware of, watching and making sure they weren't one of _them_. All her life she had done her shopping online, when she had a family and when she didn't.

A polished black car was waiting outside Stark Tower, and the driver held the door open for Pepper and Nora. Nora's eyes darted around wildly before she entered the car, scanning every face before settling next to Pepper, who was already making a list of all the stores she was planning on taking her. Nora hoped she wouldn't have to do any running today.

* * *

**A/N**

**it's 2 in the morning and I'm too tired to find a song so this chapter is songless**

**but I did proof read this one (so I'm sorry if I missed something, but I'm pretty sure I got everything)**

**And remember Nora's pin. It means something. **

**anywayssss, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Tell me what you think! and Hooray! It's summer!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

_This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong  
Windows and rooms that I'm passing through  
This is just a stop on the way to where I'm going  
I'm not afraid because I know  
This is my temporary home_

* * *

Pepper walked into the brightly lit top floor of Stark Tower, smiling at the look of amazement on Nora's face.

She dropped the multiple shopping bags on the floor, hurried down the few steps and across to the large floor to ceiling windows covering the wall. Her mouth hung open as she stared out at the Manhattan skyline. The sun was setting, and the lights in the room were slowing turning on around her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Pepper asked, coming up behind her. Nora could only nod her head, before turning around and taking in the rest of the room. A bar was to the left of her, near a set of doors leading outside to some type of cat walk. A circular couch sat in the center of the room with a glass coffee table, and a number of different Iron Man framed posters hung on a few of the walls.

Nora smirked, '_Tony's pretty full of himself._'

She glanced back over her shoulder at the wall of windows, "Do these have blinds?" She asked. Pepper shook her head, "But they do get darker when you ask Jarvis."

"Jarvis? Is he like…Tony's butler?" Nora asked curiously. Pepper chuckled, shaking her head, "No, he's Tony's AI, Artificial Intelligence. Now that you live here, just ask Jarvis for anything and he can help you."

"How do I…?" she trailed off, not knowing how to word it. Pepper smiled, "Jarvis, would you care to introduce yourself?" Pepper asked, glancing around the room.

"My pleasure, Ms. Potts." A British sounding voice said from nowhere. Nora jumped, staring around the room with wide eyes.

"Hello, Ms. Richter. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask." The AI said.

Nora stared around the room, wondering if there was a direct source from where his voice was coming from. "Uh, thank you, Jarvis."

"You're welcome, Ms. Richter."

Nora turned to look at Pepper, "Does Jarvis stand for something or does Tony just like that name?"

"It stands for _Just A Rather Very Intelligent System_." Jarvis's voice rang through the room. Pepper smirked, while Nora continued to stare around the room in awe. "I've never had an AI roommate before." She muttered.

Pepper chuckled, before motioning for Nora to follow her. "This is obviously the living area, but your room does have your own television in case you want some privacy."

"But there isn't a TV in here." Nora pointed out, hurrying over and grabbing her shopping bags.

"Jarvis," Pepper called, and suddenly the floor in front of the circular couch opened up and a very large television moved up and out from the floor and in front of them. The floor closed up again, and Nora's mouth hung open.

"Tony designed it like that so there'd be more room in here. His original idea was to have it hang down from the ceiling but he didn't like the idea of a sore neck." She explained, leading Nora back to the elevator.

"So, the top floor is the living area." Nora muttered, making it a mental note. "The floor under it is where all the bedrooms are." Pepper said.

"How many are there?"

"Seven. One for Tony and I, one for Bruce, Steve, Agent Barton, Agent Romanoff, and Thor; the seventh was my idea, for when I didn't feel like sleeping with Tony for the night, and now it's your room."

Nora bit her lip, "Sorry for taking your escape room."

Pepper shook his head, "It's no problem. I'll just make Tony sleep on the couch now."

Nora chuckled, "Uh, why do you have rooms for the Avengers and Bruce?"

Pepper glanced at her, before shrugging, "When Tony and I were rebuilding the tower after what happened last year, he thought he'd add rooms for them for when they're in the area for a visit. Now Fury wants a tower just for the Avengers, so Tony and Bruce are working on that."

"Does the Hulk not get a room since he'd break the building or something?" Nora asked, chuckling. Pepper glanced at her again; the two of them stepped off the elevator and walked down the hallway.

"You don't know, do you?" Pepper asked. Nora gave her a look, "Know what?"

Pepper shook her head, "Nothing. This is your room." She said, stopping in front of a room at the end of the hallway.

Pepper pushed the door opened and let Nora step inside first. Her breath hitched.

Large windows covered the wall across from her, and along the wall to her left was a wall covered in bookshelves and a large television. A queen sized bed was against the wall to her right, two night stands sat in either side of the bed and another door stood by her bed.

She dropped her shopping bags and went to inspect it, and what was behind it did not help her breath return to her. A gorgeous en suite stood behind it, with marble countertops and a stand up shower and soaker tub. Another door was at the end of the bathroom, and Nora wondered what else could there be.

Behind door number three was a very large walk in closet, with a few women's blazers and skirts hanging up, and a wall for shoes.

"Those are mine, I'll have them out of here right now," Pepper explained, walking in beside her and grabbing the two hangers of clothing.

"This is ten times better than anything I've ever stayed in before." Nora muttered, walking around the closet.

Pepper smiled, "I'm glad you like it. Do you need any more help?"

Nora shook her head, "No, I've got it from here, I think. Thank you for your help, Pepper."

She shook her head, leaning in the doorway of the closet, "It's no problem, Nora." She said, turning to leave.

"Uh, Pepper!" Nora called. Pepper stopped, turning back around.

"Are Tony and Bruce still working?" She asked.

Pepper shrugged, "Probably. When they're together it's hard to tear them away from the lab."

"And that's three floors below this one, right?" Nora questioned, trying to remember the layout Pepper had told her before.

Pepper nodded, "And the floor under this one is the gym, and the next four floors is all basically R & D stuff,"

Nora nodded, "Alright, thanks Pepper."

She nodded, and walked out of the room.

Nora heard the bedroom door click closed, and she walked back through the closet, glanced around the very beautiful, elegant white and red bathroom, before turning back into the bedroom.

She fell against the bed, eyeing the many shopping bags. While they were out she had pulled her hoodie up around her face, and the first thing Pepper had bought her was sunglasses. It was a cliché disguise, but it was the best she could do. Pepper had taken her to a number of different expensive clothing stores, until Nora convinced her to take her to the nearest mall.

Six clothing stores and twenty shopping bags later Nora had bought enough clothes she knew she'd end up leaving behind in the mad rush to run after she left Stark Tower. But she didn't mind at the moment. For now she was safe, and she was going to enjoy it. She didn't know how long she'd stay, but she was thinking perhaps a month or two. She felt a bit guilty living there for free during the holidays, but she figured she'd help Tony out when ever she could. Speaking of...

"Jarvis?" Nora called, wondering if the AI had access to her room.

"Yes, Ms. Richter?"

She smirked, "Are Tony and Bruce doing anything serious?"

"They are discussing the layout of the new Avengers Tower." Was the AI's response.

"When did they last eat?" she questioned.

"Mr. Stark last ate at 1:27 PM and Dr. Banner last ate yesterday, November eighteenth, 7:34 PM."

Nora's mouth fell open as she quickly tumbled off the bed and hurried out of her room. Tony hadn't eaten in at least five hours, and she didn't even want to think about Bruce. Was he insane? He was obviously that kind of doctor/scientist that would work until he was done, skipping meals and maybe even sleep. She didn't even want to ask when the last time Bruce slept was.

She stood in the elevator, thinking over the layout of the floors. "Jarvis, what floor is the kitchen?" She questioned.

"Floor sixty-three, Ms. Richter."

"Thank you, Jarvis." She said, pressing the button. The elevator took her down six floors until it dinged, and Nora stepped off. A very large, silver and black kitchen was in front of her. A large dining room table fit for twenty was off to the side, and a smaller table for about six stood near the end of the room next to the large windows. There were two very large stainless steel fridges, black cabinets and countertops, and Nora could see little detects of gold and red in the countertops, a six burner stove top on the island and four ovens against the left wall, along with a microwave.

She whistled, taking in the very gorgeous kitchen.

"Is Tony or Bruce allergic to anything, Jarvis?" Nora asked, walking towards the fridge. "No, Ms. Richter."

"Thank you, Jarvis." She muttered, searching the contents for food. She pulled out some deli meats, condiments and dropped them on the counter top. She searched the cabinets, and grabbed the loaf of bread.

Just as she turned to look for the silver wear, a door opened and she smiled. "Thank you, Jarvis."

"You're welcome, Ms. Richter."

She grabbed a knife and spoon, dropped them on the counter, and went to look for plates and cups. She grabbed two plates, set them down, before searching the cabinet of cups. She grinned triumphantly when she found three very small glass cups. She didn't really know if it was considered a cup, though. It wasn't a shot glass, and it reminded her of the things at restaurants when you ask for sauce on the side.

She grinned, setting them down on the counter and getting to work.

She made two turkey sandwiches, laying on a few leafs of lettuce and poured ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise in the glass condiment cups. She laid the sandwiches on the plates, found a food tray underneath in one of the cabinets, laid down two butter knives, the plates, the condiment cups on the tray, before looking in the fridge for drinks.

She pulled out a beer for Tony, seeing as it was one of the few things in the fridge she thought Tony drank and not Pepper. She hesitated on grabbing the second beer, wondering if Bruce was a drinker.

He didn't appear to be, and she stopped, closing the fridge and placing Tony's beer on the tray. "Jarvis, do you know what Bruce likes to drink?"

"Tea is a favorite of his." Jarvis responded.

She nodded, looking around the kitchen for a kettle and wondering where they'd keep the tea leaves. Without asking, two cabinets opened, revealing a teakettle and multiple boxes for preparing tea.

She grinned, "Thanks, Jarvis." She called happily, grabbing the kettle.

Once the water boiled, she grabbed a coffee cup, and settled on green tea for Bruce. After everything was set nicely on the tray, she grabbed it, walked towards the elevator, and pressed the button to the floor Bruce and Tony were working on.

She stepped into a well decorated hallway, with a few framed awards and some Iron Man posters. She also counted a few Avengers posters as she walked down the hall and found herself in front of a two glass doors. They slid open as she approached, and she saw Tony sitting on a wheel-y stool while Bruce stood behind a table. A blue hologram of a building was between them on the table, and they were going back and forth adding and removing things from the building.

Tony and Bruce both looked over at the sound of the doors sliding open, and Tony gave her a questioning look, "Are you employing yourself as my own personal maid? Because if you are, you'll need a _much_ more revealing uniform." He said.

Bruce and Nora both rolled their eyes, and Nora placed the tray on a table across from them. "Jarvis said it had been a while since you two ate, so I thought I'd make you something." She explained, stepping aside.

"Thanks, Nora." Bruce smiled, walking over to the table along with Tony. Tony inspected it, before knocking the top piece of bread off his sandwich and preparing it just as he liked it.

Bruce left his plain, before noticing the tea. He looked up at her, and she shrugged, "Jarvis said your favorite is tea. I hope green is fine."

"Green is perfect, right?" Tony asked, looking at him. Bruce smirked, before nodding his head, "Green's fine. Thank you."

She nodded, backing up towards the door, "Well, I'll just, uh, get back upstairs and let you two finish up." She said, turning and walking out.

Tony watched her leave, before looking over at Bruce. "When are you going to tell her?" he questioned, popping the top off his beer and walking back over to his stool.

Bruce ignored his question, taking a sip of his tea.

"I think she's smart enough to figure it out." Tony called to him. Bruce sighed, placing his tea back down on the tray. "It isn't as if she'll be around forever. Why should I tell her who I am?" he questioned.

Tony shrugged, "Maybe I want her to be around forever."

Bruce chuckled, "Pepper wouldn't like that."

"Not like that," Tony rolled his eyes, "She's interesting. I've been doing some research on her, actually found a news report about her house being on fire, but they were only able to name her mother, father and uncle, since she did say her and her siblings didn't have birth certificates or social security numbers. I want to know who's after her, and maybe Happy would like to have her on security for Stark Industries." He explained, taking a bite of his dinner.

Bruce looked back at the blue prints of the Avengers headquarters, "Just because you want her around doesn't mean I do."

"Lying isn't a good look on you." Tony commented.

Bruce didn't respond, instead he grabbed a holographic image of a window and chucked it at Tony's head. He dodged it, before giving Bruce a knowing look, "Don't go destroying your future home because you got the hot's for the assassin."

Bruce rolled his eyes, pulling up a few different window designs and shapes and sending them over Tony's way.

* * *

**A/N**

**sorry it took so long to update! I've been getting side tracked with spending my graduation money and keeping in touch with my friends since we don't have school.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked it! Tell me what you think!(: I'll update again soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

_But with you, I feel again  
Yeah, with you, I can feel again  
I'm feeling better ever since you know me  
I was a lonely soul, but that's the old me_

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Nora's eyes flew open.

She slipped down onto the floor, kneeled down and checked under the bed. Once she was sure that was clear, she stood and crossed towards the bathroom. She looked under the cabinets of the sink, behind all her clothing in the closet, and finally she walked back into her bedroom and stared out the nearly black tinted windows. She was surprised at how dark Jarvis could make them and still be able to see out of them.

She couldn't detect anyone looking in from outside, and she quietly walked outside of her room and into the dark hallway.

She listened closely as she walked, eyeing every door suspiciously until she reached the elevator. She made her way to every floor she was permitted to go to, until she finally reached the top floor living area.

She slowly stepped out of the elevator, walking around the couch and up the steps towards the bar. She moved past the bar once she saw it was clear, and over to the large windows. Her eyes traveled across the balcony, trying to see behind a few chairs Pepper had set up out there.

_Ding_

She spun around, her fists up, when Bruce walked off the elevator.

He jumped slightly, holding up his hands. "Uh, Nora?" he questioned, not completely sure it was her in the dark.

Nora blushed, dropping her head, "Jarvis, could you get the lights?" She called, embarrassed.

"Certainly, Ms. Richter."

The lights began to turn up, and Bruce and Nora stood across from each other awkwardly.

"Why are you up?" Nora finally asked, trying to sound casual. Bruce's mouth hung open slightly as he tried to answer, before shrugging his shoulders, "I was in the lab doing a few things for the tower. What are you doing up?" he questioned.

Nora's mouth made an 'O'. She remembered seeing the lights in the lab on, and when she glanced inside she barely glimpsed someone with dark hair walk behind a large machine, but she just assumed it was Tony since it was his home and he did seem like the night owl.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Perimeter check."

"Didn't you come here because of how great Tony's security system is?" Bruce asked, smirking. She blushed, "It's a habit, okay? Ever since those guys started chasing me I've always gotten up every fifteen, twenty minutes each night to check everything." She yawned, "This place is a hell of a lot bigger than any other place I've lived in before, so this one has taken extra long." She muttered.

Bruce nodded, walking towards the couch. "Well…goodnight." He told her, before grabbing a remote off the table and pressing a button, making the television appear.

Nora remained where she stood, until she walked over to the opposite side of the couch. "Don't you have a television in your room?" she asked.

Bruce shook his head, "I think Tony did that so I'm not some little hermit migrating only from my room to the kitchen to the lab. I don't really mind though." He explained, flipping on the twenty-four hour News station.

She nodded, scooting a bit closer to Bruce to get a better look at the television. "Do you mind if I stay for a bit? I'll take me a while to fall back asleep after being up for so long." She explained. Bruce nodded, and the two of them watched the News in silence.

She kept glancing at him, nervously fiddling with the hem of her plain grey nightshirt and matching sweatpants. It was nearly one in the morning, and she felt self-conscious about being in her pajamas. She wondered if this was what girls felt like when they were alone with a boy in high school. Maybe this self-conscious feeling was to make up for her solitary life growing up and when she was on the run.

Bruce looked over at her, "Do you…want to watch something else?"

Nora jumped slightly, looking towards him. "No, no, the News is fine. I like the News." She sputtered out. Bruce smirked, before turning back to the television.

"Did you watch the News a lot in Calcutta?" Nora asked, crossing her arms. What kind of question was that?

Bruce chuckled, "Uh, I didn't have a television." He told her, and she felt very stupid considering she'd been inside his home there before.

She felt something fall on her lap and she glanced down, and realized Bruce had tossed the remote at her.

"You can change the channel. I don't watch television too much anyway." He explained, moving to stand up.

Nora wanted to ask where he was going, when she realized it _was_ one in the morning and he was probably going to bed. She felt like joining him in the elevator and returning to her room, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to tell him she was going to go too.

Slowly, she slouched down on the couch and began fiddling with the television, while Bruce turned and walked towards the bar.

Nora gave him a curious look as she settled on an old Disney movie, and watched him pull a water bottle out of the mini fridge behind the bar.

"Would you like one?" He called. Nora paused, before quickly nodding her head. He grabbed a second one and walked back over to her.

He took a seat a few inches away from her, and nodded towards the television, "Beauty and the Beast, huh? I've never seen this one."

Nora gawked at him as she took a drink from her water, "You haven't? I lived in solitary confinement since birth and even I've seen Beauty and the Beast!"

"My favorite was The Lion King." He said, smiling. Nora nodded, "That's a good one too. But I have a weak spot for the Disney Princess movies; except Sleeping Beauty. I don't know why, I just don't like it."

Bruce laughed, looking over at her, "That's not a very good reason not to like it."

"Do _you_ like it?" She shot back.

"We're not talking about me."

"Now we are. Well?" Nora asked, waiting. Bruce paused, before sighing. "No, I don't like it either."

Nora let out a loud laugh, poking him in the arm, "I bet you dislike it for the same reasons, too! How unfair to chide me for that, doctor Banner!"

He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Okay, okay, I give."

She smirked, taking her hand back and gripping her water bottle. She looked back at the television to see it was at the dancing scene, and she sighed happily. She always loved this scene.

"You know," Nora started, glancing up at Bruce, "When I was little and my dad and uncle were busy training my brother and sister, my mother would let me watch television. This was one of my favorite ones to watch because of this scene." She said, pointing to the television. "I always wanted to dance with someone like that. I taught myself how to dance because of this scene, but it isn't the same unless you have the guy to dance with, you know?" she explained, looking up at Bruce.

He nodded a small frown on his lips. They remained quiet, the two of them watching the movie until the end.

As the credits rolled Bruce let out a yawn. It was nearly three in the morning and he was asking for it, staying up this late.

He looked towards the brunette only to see she had sunk down completely onto the couch, curled up into a ball at his side as she slept.

He smiled, noticing at how peaceful she looked. He wondered how long she had been asleep, seeing as she told him before she had a habit of waking up every few minutes.

Deciding he couldn't just leave here there without a blanket, he stood up, and began looking through all the closets and cabinets for something to keep the girl warm.

* * *

Nora woke up the next morning, curled up on Tony's black couch with an Iron Man fleece blanket thrown across her. She shot up, staring around the room curiously to see if anyone was there. It was empty, and the windows were back to their normal color, the television put away.

She got up, clutching the blanket around her shoulders as she walked towards the elevator.

"Jarvis, locate Bruce for me." She called as she stepped inside.

"Dr. Banner is currently in lab A with Mr. Stark." The AI replied.

"Thank you." She said, pressing the appropriate button. She stepped off the elevator, walking down the hall until she could see Bruce and Tony going back and forth with the design. They didn't appear to notice her as she walked in.

"We don't need a twelve foot deep swimming pool on the roof _or_ in the basement." Bruce was saying.

"Can you not imagine the parties?" Tony shot back, putting some holographic palm trees on the hologram of the Avengers Tower.

"If anything we need a lap pool and a shooting range."

Tony groaned, "The pool would be such an amazing get away. No one likes lap pools anyway."

Nora nodded, "Tony's idea does sound better."

Bruce and Tony spun around. Tony smirked at Nora's choice of blankets while Bruce blushed slightly and looked towards the floor.

"Sleep well with me?" Tony asked, eyeing the blanket. Nora rolled her eyes, before looking towards Bruce, "Thanks for the blanket."

He shrugged, "It was nothing."

Tony looked at Bruce, before pointing between the two of them, "Did something happen last night?" he questioned.

Bruce shook his head, as did Nora.

Tony continued to point, "How'd he give you a blanket? Something _did_ happen!" he turned to Bruce, "Did you break the bed? It's been a while,"

Bruce and Nora's face turned a bright shade of red and Nora swatted Tony's arm, "I fell asleep on the couch and Bruce was watching television! Nothing dirty, you pig." She chided.

Tony pouted, "That isn't nearly as fun as what I thought. You should have let me believe it." He said, before turning back to the blueprints. Bruce and Nora both smirked at each other, a bit amused at Tony.

"Would you like to stay? I could use some help with Tony." Bruce asked, waving to an open stool. Nora quickly nodded her head, ignoring the fact she was still in her pajamas, and took a seat on the stool.

"Like I was saying," Tony started as Bruce walked around the table to stand across from him, "After a long day of saving the world we need to relax. Nothing says relax like a great diving pool, water slide and hot tub." He explained, waving to the design.

"A steam room would be much better, more discrete, and not as expensive as all of that." Bruce shot back, crossing his arms.

"A steam room?" Tony repeated, raising his eyebrow. "We can't get Tasha, Pepper and Nora into sexy bikinis with a steam room!"

Nora rolled her eyes, "Who says I'm going to be staying in the Avengers tower?"

Tony shrugged, glancing at Bruce. "Maybe the good doctor needs a cute assistant. I can think of a few things he needs _assisting_ on." He said.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, "Tony!" he groaned, pushing the mental image of Tony's innuendo out of mind.

Nora blushed, glaring at Tony, "I've lived with you not even twenty four hours and I'm starting to regret it."

He shrugged, "Best option you have unless you wanna get killed. Now, back to you as his assistant," he said, pointing towards Bruce.

"Fine!" Bruce interrupted him, "Put in the pool, but no giant water slide or hot tub!"

Tony pursed his lips, thinking this over. "Medium size water slide and a hot tub on the balcony of the living room." He bargained.

Nora gave Tony a look, "I hope when you say 'water slide' you mean a slide that just squirts water, right? Not an actual…"

"Not the brightest light bulb in the bunch, are you?" Tony asked, expanding the blueprint to show Nora that the slide and squirting water was exactly what he meant. She blushed, frowning. Bruce gave Tony a small glare before turning back to the blue prints.

"Don't call her dumb, Tony. You are Tony Stark; it's not hard to believe you would put a full sized water slide on the roof of a giant building."

Nora gave Bruce a small smile, her thanks for defending her, and Tony shrugged, "I wouldn't do that. I _would_ have put one in my mansion in Malibu but I'm already right next to the ocean." He explained, pulling a bag of Ritz crackers out from the cabinet under the table and popping a few in his mouth.

Nora gave Tony a look, "To have a mansion in Malibu, a tower in New York and the money to build another one just for the Avengers. Are you the richest man _alive_, Tony? Or just in America?"

Tony smirked, "Probably alive; I'd say galaxy but I got into an argument with Muscles last time he was hear about who was richer." He pouted, "I would have won that argument too if Natasha hadn't slapped us both so we'd shut up."

Nora chuckled, turning towards Bruce. "So, you get to live in Avengers tower too?" she asked.

He nodded, "Looks like I'm gonna be here until they finish it, and then SHIELD wants me to move in as soon as it's ready. I'll have to send for the rest of my things in Calcutta." He frowned, "I'll miss my patients. I hope they can find another doctor." He muttered.

Nora frowned, "Uplifting your whole life just because you're the team's personal doctor. I'd hate that."

Tony and Bruce both shared a look. Nora noticed this, wondering what it could mean. He was a doctor, wasn't he? Why would he lie about that when he was a doctor in Calcutta?

Tony pulled up a holographic model of the living room, showing it to Nora. "You think this could fit the Avengers?" he asked, tossing the hologram at Nora.

She caught it, staring at the little projection in awe. She'd never worked with something like this before. She studied the large couch and chairs, big entertainment system and large windows. It was like a larger version of Tony's living room in Stark Tower, only it seemed to have little holographic images of the Avengers on the wall instead of Tony.

She nodded, "It looks really comfortable. You'd all love it. But are you _all_ going to live here?" she asked curiously.

Tony nodded, shrugging. "More or less. Thor will come and go, seeing as how he's from another planet and all, and I'll be going back and forth from my place in Malibu to here, but other than that, yeah everyone will be living there."

Nora nodded, "Does that mean the Hulk really does have some other form or something? Because this living room is a bit small if he's that big all the time." Nora commented, spinning the hologram around in her hand.

Tony smirked, eyeing Bruce. Bruce was staring down at the table, clenching and unclenching his hands.

"I've gotta go take a leak. Be back in a bit. _Bruce_," Tony said, pushing himself away from the lab table and walking out of the room, whistling.

Bruce and Nora both watched Tony go, before Nora looked towards Bruce. His eyes were back on the table again, a serious expression on his face.

"Are you okay Bruce?" she asked. He sighed, taking his glasses off. "Bruce?" she questioned.

"Uh, I haven't been completely honest with you." He started, turning to face her. She gave him a look, "You aren't a doctor?" she questioned.

Bruce shook his head, "No, no I am. Uh, it's about the Avengers. I'm, uh, I'm more than just the doctor…"

Nora thought for a moment, "What are you, the hulk or something?" she questioned, a small smile on her lips as she said it.

Bruce looked a bit taken aback, before shrugging, "What would you do if I was? Would you be scared?" he asked.

Nora gave him a look, considering this. Slowly she shook her head, "No, I don't think so."

"Really?" Bruce asked, not believing it.

She shrugged, "I mean, you haven't hulked out on me and I can be pretty annoying. Plus, the Hulk's been around for, like, ten or so years so I figure you'd have pretty good control over it by now." She explained, throwing the hologram across the table until it hit the holographic building.

Bruce smirked, "What gave you the idea I'm the hulk?" he asked.

She pointed towards the door, "I'm just guessing, but I figured since I mentioned the Hulk and Tony made it painstakingly obvious he was giving us alone time after I did it might have something to do with the Green Guy."

Bruce smirked, _'she caught on quickly'_. He motioned to himself, a forced smile on his lips, "You guessed right."

Nora gave him a look, quirking one of her eyebrows. "I guessed right? Really?"

Bruce nodded, waiting for a reaction. Nora continued to stare at him, studying every inch of him. He felt uncomfortable under her intense stare, and he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Finally, Nora reached over and grabbed the bag of Ritz. She popped a cracker in her mouth before holding it out for Bruce, "Want one?"

Bruce gave her a confused look, "What?"

She shrugged, "Do you want a cracker? Tony shouldn't mind."

"I just told I'm the Hulk and you're offering me a cracker? You're not scared or anything?" he asked.

Nora nodded, "I'm scared, don't get me wrong, but not of _you_." She made clear. "Unless Hulk gives me a reason to be scared of him, I'm not scared of _him_ either. I'm scared of a lot of things, but you? No." she explained, taking another cracker.

"You don't think the…the Other Guy has given you enough reason to be scared of him? Did you not hear what he, what I...what _he_ did to Harlem? Or how _he_ punched a Leviathan in the face?"

Nora shrugged, "Am I Harlem? Am I a Leviathan? I don't think so." She said, smiling.

Bruce gawked at her, before shaking his head, "I-I don't believe you."

She rolled her eyes, "What? Is it so hard to believe that there is another person in the world who isn't scared of you? I'm sure your partners in the Avengers aren't scared of you, Tony definitely isn't, although I don't think Tony's scared of anything."

Bruce sighed, "That isn't it,"

"Then what?" Nora asked, confused. "I'm _not_ scared of you. There are two things in this world I'm terrified of and you or the Hulk isn't either of them. So you better get used to it buddy." She explained, rolling the Ritz crackers back over to where Tony had left them.

Bruce stared at her, before a small smile pulled at his lips. "That's the most reckless and idiotic thing you've ever said."

She smirked, "I suppose honesty can sound like that at times."

* * *

**A/N**

**Hello! Copyright to the lyrics used goes out to One Republic!**

**I hope you guys liked this chapter! Now Nora knows the big secret. But she says she's not scared of the Hulk unless he gives her a reason...I wonder if he will... hehehe  
**

**I'll try to post the next chapter soon! Thank you everyone who reviewed, and added this story to their favorites and alerts! You rock!(: Bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own Marvel's The Avengers.**

* * *

_So I'm gonna give all my secrets away _  
_This time_  
_ Don't need another perfect lie_  
_ Don't care if critics ever jump in line_  
_ I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

* * *

Nora scratched her head tiredly as she woke up at five AM Thanksgiving morning, her baggy pajama pants hanging off her hips and her white tank top hugging around her chest as she groggily made her way to the kitchen.

She doubted Bruce, Tony or Pepper was up this early, which gave Nora plenty of time to make herself breakfast and clean up.

The elevator dinged and she stepped off and towards the side with the fridge when someone tall and blonde walked into her. She screamed, and quickly grabbed the man's wrists and tried to lock them behind his back. But he was _strong_!

He yanked his wrists out of her hands and waved them in front of her, shushing her. "Hey, calm down!" he whispered. Nora rubbed her eyes, fully awake before looking at the man. "Steve?" She questioned curiously.

The lights turned up and Nora muttered, "Thanks Jarvis." She looked Steve over, "W-What are you doing here?" she questioned.

He gawked at her, "I could ask you the same question."

The bell to the elevator dinged and a very tried Tony stumbled out while a very alert Pepper lead the way, both clad in their pajamas. "What's going on?!" Pepper asked, annoyed.

"You better have a good reason for waking me, Nor." Tony muttered, a sleepy glare on his face. Nora blushed, waving to Steve, "He surprised me. I didn't think anyone was up."

Tony gave her a disgruntled look, before turning on his heel towards the elevator. Pepper followed him, yawning.

Once the door closed Nora turned to look at Steve, "You still haven't answered my question."

He sighed, tucking his hands in his sweat pants, "Tony invited me for Thanksgiving, I got here late last night and since I have a room here I figured I'd stay here during the holidays since Tony was going to invite me back for Christmas and New Year's. Why are you here?" he asked curiously.

She shrugged, "Tony invited me." She said, turning and walking towards the fridge. She paused, glancing back at the man who was taking a seat at the small table by the windows, "Are you an Avenger?" she questioned.

He froze, before turning his head towards her. "What gives you that impression?"

She shrugged, pulling out the carton of Orange juice and walking to the cup cabinet. "Tony is an Avenger, and Pepper told me when we went shopping when I first met her that Tony built bedrooms for all his Avenger pals when he was fixing up Stark Tower after the battle last year; which really sucks since the Fury guy I've heard so much about is making Tony and Bruce set up blueprints and build a tower solely for the Avengers. Let me guess, you aren't a Norse God who talks with a loud booming voice, so I'm gonna go with…Captain America." She said, giving Steve a look as she sipped her juice.

Steve gawked at her, before rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I'm surprised you've been allowed to know that much information." He muttered.

"You're not gonna tell on me, are you?" She asked, mock fear in her voice.

Steve shook his head quickly, not picking up that she wasn't worried. She smiled, before walking over to the pantry to dig out some cereal. "Why are you up so early?" she called over her shoulder.

"Uh, I'm a morning person." He replied. Nora nodded, settling on Chocolate Rice Krispy's and returned to the kitchen and Steve.

She looked him over, and noticed he was in sweats and a t-shirt. "Are you a morning workout person too?" She questioned curiously. He glanced down at himself, and she continued. "I would assume you slept in that, but considering your Captain America and you grew up in the thirties you probably sleep in pajamas, right?" she asked, grabbing the milk from the fridge.

Steve blushed slightly, "You assume a lot, don't you?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I don't go out, and working out and surfing the internet can only hold my attention for so long. I started coming up with my own little assumptions for the rest of the Avengers who apparently stay here sometimes."

She brought her juice and bowl of cereal to the table and sat next to Steve. "What else have you thought of?" he asked.

Nora thought this over, stirring her cereal and milk together. "Well, I strongly believe Clint sleeps in a nest because of the whole bird thing, but his room is locked so I can't prove anything, and I think he's closest with Natasha. Natasha, on the other hand, doesn't like me, so I don't think I'll be making any assumptions about her." She explained.

"She doesn't?" Steve asked curiously. Nora nodded, "Bruce told me once that she doesn't trust me, and seeing as she is the infamous Black Widow, not being trusted by her is a big thing and a bad thing, at least to me." She explained.

Steve nodded, "What about me?"

She smirked, "Besides the pajamas thing? Uh, you probably use the words 'swell' and 'darn' a lot," she said, glancing at him. He chuckled, staring down at his hands.

"And, you probably have like…the greatest respect for women ever." She said, grinning. He blushed, a small smile on his lips. "Bruce respects women too, and Clint."

She nodded, "Yeah, but you have that thirties-respect, if that makes sense. Your respect started it all!" she said happily.

Steve chuckled, "Are you up because you're in charge of the dinner or something?" he asked. Nora scoffed, shaking her head. "I can cook, but not a Thanksgiving fest! Tony said something about him and Pepper doing it, which I think will be awesome. I don't think I've seen Tony make anything besides his drinks."

Steve chuckled, and the two continued on until finally at seven, Tony, Pepper and Bruce all strolled into the kitchen, ready for their own breakfast.

* * *

"The parade's a lot longer than when I was a kid." Steve commented as he, Nora and Bruce all sat on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"Do you recognize any of the balloon characters?" Nora asked curiously, and Steve flushed, scratching behind his ear as he stared down at his lap. "A few." he muttered.

Nora and Bruce both chuckled when Tony walked out of the elevator and strolled over towards the bar. "All this cooking requires a drink." He said enthusiastically.

Nora gaped at him, "I don't feel comfortable letting someone who's drinking prepare Thanksgiving dinner."

Bruce nodded, "Save it for after we cut the turkey."

Tony rolled his eyes and pointed to Steve, "I'm tappin out. You can help Pep, can't you?"

"We're watching the parade!" Nora whined, locking arms with Bruce and Steve. The two men both shared a small blush, but Nora didn't notice. "You volunteered to make the dinner; there is no tapping out, Tony." She said sternly.

He groaned, "Fine. But you three are making desert." He said, putting his bottle of scotch on the counter and pointing to the three of them.

"Deal." Nora said, taking back her arms, leaving the boys to scoot back to their previous positions on the couch.

"How come we didn't have a say in that deal?" Bruce asked, staring at Nora. She gawked at him, "Don't tell me mister scientist can't make a simple desert for five people."

"Six. Tony said something about his friend Happy joining us." Steve piped in. Nora shrugged, "Six people is not a lot. We can whip up some cookies or one of you can go buy a cheesecake."

Bruce scoffed, "One of us?"

Nora gave him a pointed look, "You know how I feel about leaving the building." She said sternly, crossing her arms.

"But, it's Thanksgiving. Aren't stores normally closed today?" Steve asked. Nora shook her head, "There are some stores still open for last minute cooking supplies."

"Cheesecake will most definitely be sold out." Bruce piped up. Nora rolled her eyes, "Fine. We'll make it."

"I doubt Tony had a spare pie crust laying around." Bruce added.

Nora laughed, "Quit being so pessimistic!" she said, poking him in the chest. He smirked, pushing her hand away, "Fine, fine, we'll see if he has a pie crust." He said, moving to stand up.

"Where do you think you're going?" She questioned.

Bruce gave her a look, "To go make the desert?"

She shook her head, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down onto the couch, "Let's finish the parade first! It doesn't take that long to make a cheesecake." She said simply, and the three of them turned their attention back to the parade.

Tony smirked as he watched the scene unfold, before finally putting his scotch away and grabbing a water bottle, moving back towards the elevator to return to Pepper.

* * *

By three o'clock, Tony was taking the large turkey out of the oven, sporting a pink_ 'Kiss the Cook'_ apron.

Nora, Bruce and Steve had finished making the cheesecake, very happy that Pepper had bought a pie crust when she bought all of the thanksgiving supplies before, and it was currently chilling in the fridge.

Nora had been introduced to Happy, who lived up to his nickname. He was a very nice man, and insisted on helping Tony and Pepper with the rest of the food.

Bruce and Nora began setting the large dining room table while Steve had been sent up to Tony's bar to grab drinks.

"Are you a lefty or a righty?" Nora asked Bruce as she placed the silverware. "Righty." Bruce answered her, setting the plates.

Nora puffed up her cheeks, a slightly disappointed look on her face. She was a lefty, which meant she wouldn't be able to sit next to him. But she would probably sit across from him, so that was alright too. She shook her head, trying to push away the disappointed feeling.

Once Steve returned with his arms filled with different bottles of wine Pepper began placing bowls of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and many more on the table.

Tony and Pepper sat next to each other, with Bruce on the other side of Tony. Nora sat across from Bruce, Steve in the middle and Happy next to him and across from Pepper. They all ignored the usual 'grace' and going around the table saying what they were thankful for, and instead just started digging in, Tony beginning to cut the turkey sitting in the center of the table.

With their plates full, everyone began talking, complementing Tony and Pepper for their cooking, and talks about work and different parties Tony's company was holding within the next month.

"A Christmas party?" Nora asked curiously.

Pepper nodded, "It's sort of a benefit really. About two years ago there was this explosion at a children's hospital in Malibu from this crazed man Tony was fighting and Tony offered to pay to rebuild it."

Nora smirked at the billionaire, "How kind of you Tony."

He shrugged, "I told you I'm a big teddy bear."

"And because he did that I pitched the idea of starting a fund that people could donate to and all the money would go to the hospital and families affected by the explosion, and then we throw a little party for all the people who donated, which we have on Christmas Eve." Pepper explained.

Nora nodded, "That's very nice. I bet it's really fun."

Tony shrugged, "I guess you could say that. A bit too boring in my taste, but whatever." He said, eating a fork full of ham.

"Sir," Jarvis's voice rang through the room.

"What is it?" Tony asked his mouth half full.

"I hate to disturb you on Thanksgiving, but Agent Coulson is on his way up."

Nora quirked an eyebrow; who was Agent Coulson?

Tony groaned, grabbing his drink and taking a swing, "Tell him we're not here."

"That's an obvious lie." Steve muttered, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"He's already here, sir." Jarvis replied.

The elevator dinged, and a middle aged man who was slightly balding walked in and over to the large dining room table.

"Hello Phil, happy Thanksgiving." Pepper commented, giving him a warm smile. Tony rolled his eyes, "Unless you are here to enjoy this delicious feast with us, I don't want to hear it." He told the man.

Phil shook his head, "I'm not here for you, Tony."

Tony quirked an eyebrow at him, and Phil strolled over and around the table, until he was standing next to Nora.

"Ms. Richter, if you could please come with me."

* * *

**A/N**

**Sorry it's been a while! not going to college and not having a job gives me literally no excuse for why I haven't updated. I've had this chapter written and I just haven't gotten around to posting it! ugh.**

**But yeah. here you go! I wonder why Coulson needs Nora? Hmm.**

**Copyright for "Secrets" goes to One Republic! See you guys next chapter! I'll try to post it tomorrow or Wednesday(since I already have it written..)!**


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